A Shell, Some Earbuds, and Too Many Memories - A Dramione Fanfic
by Pokey314
Summary: Hermione and Draco go back to Hogwarts for their final year and become Head Boy & Girl. Both have many problems and emotional issues, but will they get along enough to realize they aren't that different? And will they crawl out of their shells and bond over something as simple and heartfelt as music? Note: Rated T just in case, for some minor violent scenes.
1. Letters, Doorbells, & the End of Summer

Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter, nor any characters, plot, setting, or other things associated with it. That all belongs to J.K. Rowling, and I could never hope to compete with her work.

A/N: _**Important timeline note!**_ I have shifted some dates around because of a few errors I made initially and while the story is supposed to be 8th year after the Battle of Hogwarts, it's currently set in the 2019-2020 academic year so that's why there's tech in this story.

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Hermione's POV

It's just one more week before I go back to Hogwarts one final time for my 8th and last year of school. It seems so weird; that after all the pain the war gave us, we're still going back to school and carrying on with our lives. I feel sad remembering that my parents will never see me graduate. Just another thing that the war has stolen from me.

It'll be so strange going back by myself. Ron and Harry were able to get fast-tracked into becoming Aurors because of how much they did during the war, but I still feel like going back for one more year of school would have done them good. Especially for Ron, as his grades weren't exactly the best in our sixth year.

As I sit on my bedroom floor, I finally stop procrastinating and pull out my letter from Headmistress McGonagall. I will never get used to saying that. As I read it for the sixth time today, I wonder if life could possibly get any worse. I may have gotten the prestigious honour of becoming Head Girl, but Malfoy is Head Boy. Honestly, this is a disaster waiting to happen. Malfoy and I will be at each other's throats all year. I wonder why he's coming back for school. With a feeling of shock, I realize just how alone I will be this year. All the students coming back are in a separate class from the seventh years to keep numbers at a reasonable level. Even if we weren't separated Head's have their own dorms, which would mean no Harry, Ron, or Ginny. I won't have anyone to talk to at all, and I'll essentially be isolated.

I break down at the thought and let myself cry. I slowly try to calm down and realize this has been my third breakdown this week and it was only a Wednesday. Ever since the war, my emotions have been all over the place. Wiping the tears from my face, I go back to reading my letter for the 4th time. My classes for this year are Arithmancy, Potions, Defense Against the Dark Arts, Study of Ancient Runes, Charms, Transfiguration, Alchemy, and Ancient Studies (focuses on really old magic like old Egyptian spells). Though I never told Ron or Harry this, I've always wanted to be an Auror or work in the Department of Mysteries. They would have laughed at me but I think that any other job would leave me seriously bored, especially after all of our adventures. The only thing that might hinder me is a fear heights.

I turn the timetable over to see the list of school supplies and textbooks needed for this year. I already have most of the supplies, with the exception of new quills and parchment. I never had the opportunity to replenish my supply last year and I haven't really left my house since I returned after the Battle of Hogwarts. The books we need are all pretty standard and I shouldn't have too much trouble getting them. I'll have to go to Diagon Alley to get my supplies, but that can wait till Friday.

For now I start packing my clothes and supply of wizarding money. I pack a couple of sets of casual clothes for evenings and Hogsmeade trips; two sets of pajamas, one for winter and one for summer; and about 7 sets of uniforms. I quickly grab my small pouch of galleons and stow it under my pajamas, then put a special lock charm on the suitcase as an extra measure of caution.

Going downstairs, I walk towards the kitchen to fix myself some lunch. As I reach the fridge to pull out the ingredients for pasta, the doorbell rings. Strange, no one's come by since I first came back home, not even the neighbors. I quickly run over to the door and open it to reveal Harry, Ron, and Ginny.

"Hey Hermione, mind if we come in?" says Harry with a small smile on his face.

I'm too shocked to really answer and just move out of the way to let them in.

"Uh… what are you guys doing here?" I ask.

"Well, it's been two weeks since we heard from you, so we decided to pay you a visit. Then we found out that you hadn't left the house since the beginning of summer!" says Ginny exasperatedly. "We also wanted to see how one of our best friends was doing especially since you stopped replying to our letters two weeks ago!

That's right, the letters just started piling up around the same time that I got my Hogwarts letter came. Too many memories and flashbacks from the war had been brought to the forefront of my mind whenever I saw their letters, especially their questions. After a while, I couldn't really bring myself to reply to them anymore.

"Hello… Hermione, are you there?" asks Ron

With a start I realize I've spaced out again.

"Oh sorry Ron, I just got lost in my thoughts. So, how are you guys? What have you done in the two weeks since I last responded to your letters?" I can tell Ginny wants to know what I've been doing and why I stopped replying, but she can tell I want to shift the conversation and starts talking about their week to get it over with.

"Well I got my Hogwarts letter," says Ginny, "congrats on getting the Head Girl position by the way. Ron and Harry both finished Auror training, and Bill and Fleur had their baby shower. It's going to be a girl!" Ginny squeals as she says this last part. "So what have you done the past two weeks? And what do you think about the new Head Boy?" She wiggles her eyebrows when she says this, but based on their expressions I can tell she hasn't told either Ron or Harry who the Head Boy is this year.

"Yeah Hermione, who is this 'elusive' Head Boy Ginny keeps teasing us about? The suspense is killing me, just tell me who it is and put us out of our misery." Ron confirms my suspicion that they don't know who it is, and I feel kind of apprehensive about telling them.

"Alright, I will answer your questions on one condition, you are not allowed to make a big deal about it or hex anyone. Got it?" I see Harry raise his eyebrows at the last statement, but he agrees and so does Ron. Ginny just waits expectantly, with a slightly mischievous expression on her face.

"Alright, to answer your question the Head Boy is the one and only Draco 'Ferret' Malfoy. And don't worry, I'll find a way to deal with him. Before you try to interrupt me, these past few weeks have been spent reading, listening to music, crying at random times, reading my Hogwarts letter, and memorizing my timetable." I look at both Harry and Ron to gauge their reactions. Harry looks gobsmacked and Ron looks ready to puke. Judging by their facial expressions, I can tell they are only thinking about Malfoy and haven't actually listened to the last part. With a glance at Ginny, I see her look sympathetically at me.

"Wow 'Mione," starts Harry, "guess we've missed a lot of information these two weeks. And Malfoy, is he really coming back for school? It just doesn't seem like him at all." Well at least he has responded pretty well to the news. Not quite what I was expecting since he and Malfoy were the biggest pair of enemies in the whole school. I guess now it's down to Ron.

"Unfortunately, he is. I sent a letter to McGonagall to confirm if he is, and she responded with a yes." I reply.

"I don't know what to say, you and Malfoy have to share a dorm and common room? That'll end well." Ron says in a sarcastic voice. Phew, I was dreading an outburst from Ron, but I guess he's matured over summer.

"I was wondering if you guys would mind coming with me on Friday to Diagon Alley. I need to get supplies for school and I don't really want to go by myself." I'm actually glad they came today. Going to Diagon Alley has never been too appealing to me since its always crowded, now I can ask for some company without it seeming too needy.

"Yeah sure Hermione, I can get my stuff as well then as supposed to doing next week. And next time, don't be afraid to ask us to accompany you. You're one of our best friends, we'd love to spend time with you." Says Ginny. Yay, one down and two to go.

"Ron and I would be happy to come seeing as how we haven't seen you all summer" Replies Harry. This is great, I won't be by myself and I'll get to catch up with them.

"Well then, since that's settled, how about I fix you guys some lunch while you're still here. Is pasta okay with you guys?" I made sure I knew how to cook since I found out about the house elves in our Second Year, and the skill has come in quite handy for many situations.

"That'd be great Hermione! We'd love to stay for awhile." says Ginny.

It's nice seeing my friends. It was way too lonely this summer, but I couldn't bring myself to leave my house. With a feeling of contentment and a big smile on my face, I go to prep lunch.

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Author's Note: I know this chapter was a bit of fluff, but it will be a bit of a slow burner so bear with me. Updates will be a little slow as I have a lot issues with procrastinating homework. Don't worry, we will see Draco's POV in the story. Feel free to send me feedback as it is always good to hear from readers. Please try to keep it positive. Thanks, Kathryn D.

 **Review Notes: I've noticed that a lot of people have a problem with my choice to make Draco a Head student, and for many reasons. I'd like to explain why I chose this and why I agree with this idea:**

1\. Though Draco did in fact attend Hogwarts for his seventh year, many of the students' education was disrupted and corrupted under Voldemort's regime. As such, it would have been a good idea to give the seventh year students an opportunity to finish their education properly without the propaganda infused curriculum. They also would not have been able to take their NEWTs properly as their education was disrupted by the Battle of Hogwarts and they would have had to a) bury the dead students, witches, and wizards after, as well as b) rebuild and restore the castle and its wards. We know for a fact that Hermione returned to Hogwarts to finish her education so it's not too far fetched for others to have done so.

2\. Draco did not have as much of a choice as you'd think. Many pureblood children were raised in environments that were not good to them and filled them with all sorts of prejudiced nonsense. They were exposed to these outdated ideas and were pretty much brainwashed. He was never loved and always sought his father's approval. While Draco may have done many awful things, his other option would to be tortured or have his family tortured. If he disobeyed any order, whether it be to get the Dark Mark or kill anyone, his family would have been hurt as punishment. His father may have been unnecessarily cruel to him, but he is still part of his family. Draco likely had a very strong love for his mother, even though it was unrequited. This would have prevented him from disobeying orders. He would have been to afraid to do anything differently. It is shown many times in the books how this was killing him inside, and that he wished it could have been different (Specifically when Harry finds Malfoy in the boy's bathroom). It was a matter of survival. The way he was trapped into doing this, is as if he was blackmailed. It is also a well known fact that Malfoy has built up many different walls against people, and hides behind a mask. He rarely shows his true emotions, and has likely had to bury his true self and values deep inside himself as many Death Eaters, especially Voldemort, used Occlumency.

3\. This is fanfiction. It doesn't have to stay canon though I do like to keep it as canon as possible and I research things as much as I can to keep it realistic. Most of my research outside the HP fandom is mentioned in my author notes on a chapter by chapter basis. Overall this is my opinion currently and I'm sticking to it.


	2. Good news, Guitars, & a Family Meal

Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter, nor any characters, plot, setting, or other things associated with it. That all belongs to J.K. Rowling, and I could never hope to compete with her work.

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Draco's POV

I stare at the piece of paper feeling like someone just gave me a million Galleons, I mean even for me that'd be quite a lot of money. I. Am. Head. Boy. Never did I even come close to thinking that I could get such a prestigious position. My feeling of elation dies down as I notice that Granger is Head Girl. Of course she is, Ms. Mudblood Know-It-All. There was no way in hell that she wouldn't have been Head Girl; she is the living embodiment of the perfect student, she intimidates most kids, and she was a very prominent member of the Order during the war.

She is essentially the polar opposite of me in every aspect. The only things that were similar between us are our top grades, though she still was better than me in everything except Potions, our ability to intimidate kids, and our love of books. Most of my friends and peers would laugh at the thought, but I have a very strong love of books. They are my only constant in my cold, dark world. Books have never judged me at any point in time. They've never made fun of me like my schoolmates, or berated me like my father. They are my only solid rock and the perfect escape. Okay, a little bit of a cheesy explanation. I've obviously been reading too much angsty poetry.

Wow though, I am Head Boy. I can't believe it, what was McGonagall thinking when she chose the two of us? We'll kill each other within the first month, not to mention the fact that I'm an ex-Death Eater. That stuff doesn't exactly look or sound that good to most people. It's not like I would try and pull anything funny, but I highly doubt Granger and her friends are going to trust me very much.

After spending almost an hour just looking at the letter from McGonagall and taking the information in, I start to look through my timetable, book list, and supply list. My courses aren't too bad, Arithmancy, Potions, Defence Against the Dark Arts, History of Magic, Charms, Transfiguration, Alchemy, and Muggle Studies. Wow, I have Muggle Studies. Didn't think that would ever happen. Maybe I can get some help from Granger. Wait a second, 'ask Granger for help', where did that thought come from?

*knock knock*

"Come in!" I yell out before I even think about it. The door opens and my mum steps into my room.

"Draco dear, I was wondering if you were going to join us for dinner tonight. Your father and I are worried about how reclusive you've been this summer. It's not healthy, especially for someone your age. Not to mention it's not healthy for your already very pale skin. You'll be going back to school in a couple of weeks and I think you should get used to being around people again." I sigh in my head at her words. Trust her to think I'll lose my ability to communicate with other human beings because I've spent my whole summer inside. Having said that, I am somewhat scared of having to interact with my peers when I go back. Not so much because of social skills, but mostly because I know most of them will be scared of me or hate me. Anyway, I think about her offer for a moment before responding.

"You know what, I think I just might join you for dinner tonight. I have some very important news to tell you and father." I can't wait to see my father's reaction. Although he should have been sent to Azkaban, he's been allowed to serve his sentence after I leave for school. Since the war just ended the ministry doesn't want to pull families apart so soon, apparently even Death Eater families. For now he's just under house arrest and isn't allowed to perform any magic.

"That's excellent Draco! I'll go tell your father. Dinner will be served in about 30 minutes." My mother then leaves the room and shuts the door behind her.

Since the war, the ministry has implemented a few laws on the use of house elves. If you want house elves, you have to pay them, and they are hired by contract. My family didn't want to deal with the hassle of hiring them, which means that my mother cooks and cleans now, while my father just sits in his study brooding all day.

I gently place my Hogwarts letter on my dresser along with my journal, my sketch pad, and my stationery holder. I reach under my bed to pull out my guitar. I've always liked playing it, and I find that it calms me. I mostly play a few old lullabies that my mother sang to me when I was little, but recently I've been experimenting with making my own music. I play for about 20 minutes, then I place it back in its case before freshening up for dinner. When I'm done, I make sure to grab my letter and badge before walking down our staircase.

The Manor has always astounded me with it's elegance and beauty. The staircase is made of marble with gold accents on the railing. There are many paintings of the wizarding countryside and small communities on the walls. In between each, is a small ornately carved wooden table with either a vase, an ancient artifact, or a sculpture. My mother has an excellent taste for art and decor, so she adds to the collection quite often. It has gotten to the point where she cycles through them every other month to give each piece a time to shine.

I finally make my way to the small dining room, to find my father reading an old book on some sort of old or ancient magic, and my mother just finishing with the setting of the table. As soon as I walk in, my father puts his book down and smiles. It's been many years since he last did that and for some reason it kind of unnerves me. Maybe it's because I suspect deceit of him.

"Ah Draco my boy, finally decided to join us in the land of the living?" he asks me in a very cheery tone. I'm surprised, he usually critiques what I'm wearing, or berates me about some inconsequential thing, and he definitely isn't cheery. I guess the death of Voldemort has had a very good effect on him, we'll have to wait and see to know for certain though.

"Yes father, I have come back. There is something very important I would like to share with you and mother once we have all sat down." At that point my mother returns with the last dish of the meal, and we all take out seats.

"Wow, we haven't had sausage and mash since… since about 10 years ago!" I say. This is one of my favourite meals from when I was a smaller child.

"Yes well, when you said you were joining us for dinner I decided to make your favourite to lighten the mood a little bit."

"Thank you very much mother, it tastes simply amazing!" I say after taking a bite. It was no joke, it was even better than when Dobby, our old house elf used to make it. Poor Dobby, I heard that he died after showing up last year to rescue Potter and his friends at the Manor.

"So what's this important thing you'll be telling us about? I'm dying to know what it is!" My father says. I still feel shocked by his attitude but continue on.

"As you both know, I received my letter from Hogwarts yesterday about my enrollment for my final year of schooling. Well, I have been confirmed as to attending Hogwarts and I'm also... Head Boy." My mother looks very excited and gives me full grin, but my father speaks first.

"That's wonderful Draco, perhaps we may yet be able to redeem the Malfoy name. Do you know who the Head Girl will be? Is she in Slytherin?" He asked the last question with a somewhat teasing tone, but more importantly he asked 'the dreaded question'. I don't know how my family will take the news that I will be living with Granger for the whole year.

"Um, you see... the Head Girl is, the mudblood, Granger. She's from Gryffindor. You know, the girl whom aunt Bellatrix tortured last year?" I add the last bit as a bit of a point. Though I don't really care for Granger, her screams will forever haunt my conscience. Speaking as someone who has been victim to it before, no one deserves the wrath of my aunt.

"Oh, well that will be interesting. I know we don't like muggleborns, but try to restrain yourself from hurting her. It wouldn't look to good on us, and it might create a lot of problems here at home." I almost choke on the piece of sausage I have in my mouth when my mother says muggleborn instead of mudblood. My mother's words are very carefully said and she seems a little reserved.

"Anyway it matters not, I highly doubt anything will change what has been decided and I'm sure there is a very good reason as to why she was picked." My father says in a very jovial manner. "We might as well move on to more meaningful topics while we have the whole family gathered. Draco, have you thought about when you will go to Diagon Alley to pick up your supplies?" Both my parents have moved on pretty quickly from the news and I'm honestly very surprised. I expected disapproval from both of them, and a very angry rant from my father.

"I was thinking of going on the Friday before we go to school. The one the week before we leave. That way the stores will have stocked up on all the necessary supplies, but there won't be as much of a rush."

"Excellent thinking. I'll write to the ministry and see if they might let me leave to accompany you and your Mother to Diagon Alley, as well as Kings Cross station to see you off. It's highly unlikely, but it would still be nice to see you go back to Hogwarts for your last year." I feel like I'm missing something, but maybe something happened while I locked myself in my room for the past few weeks. Both my parents are a lot calmer and seem wiser than they used to be.

The rest of the meal is conducted in silence, but I don't mind as I'm too busy enjoying the food. My mother has truly outdone herself. Just as we finish up, my mother gets up and returns with a small berry pie.

"Wow mum, you didn't have to make dessert as well."

"Nonsense dear, we haven't seen much from you this summer and you'll be leaving soon to go to Hogwarts in just a couple of weeks. It's the least I could do, especially since I just needed to put it in the oven. I'd already made it up to have on Sunday dinner, but I think it'll serve for a better occasion today."

We finish quickly and I promptly collect the dishes to wash them up. In the kitchen I charm them to wash, dry, and put themselves themselves away to save my mother the work. Once I'm done, I walk back to my room and read my letter again to check that I'm not dreaming. Today has been wonderful, and I feel truly happy for the first time in over a year, maybe even two.

Putting down my letter, I reach for my journal and begin writing today's entry.

August 14th

Today I got my Hogwarts letter...

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Author's Note: Again, please review! Feedback is always welcome. I got my first followers and views and it feels so cool! Please check out some of my favourite stories by clicking my username at the top. Some of them are really amazing, though many were discontinued. Have a great week, till next time!


	3. A Late Start, & an Early Riser

Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter, nor any characters, plot, setting, or other things associated with it. That all belongs to J.K. Rowling, and I could never hope to compete with her work.

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Hermione's POV

I wake up this morning to the sound of loud pounding on what must be my front door.

*bang bang bang bang bang*

"One sec, I'm coming!" Ugh, who could possibly be knocking on my door at 8am on a Friday? Wait, oh dang it's Friday! I glance at my alarm clock as I throw off my covers and see that I was supposed to meet Ginny, Harry, and Ron at the Burrow half an hour ago!

I quickly run down the stairs to open the door while putting on a cardigan so I look decent, and manage to half trip down the last 3 steps.

"Ow!"

I stumble towards the door and open it to the smiling faces of my friends.

"There you are! We've been waiting for you for the past 45 minutes!" says Ginny.

"Sorry everyone, I stayed up late last night making sure I had everything I needed to get on a list, and trying to make space in my trunk for all the stuff I'm getting today." I say as I invite them inside and lead them to the living room. "It was like a game of Tetris!" My friends all make weird faces when I realize that they've never heard of it. Right, it's so easy to get my life as a muggle and my life as a witch confused. "Tetris is a puzzle game where you have to fit these weirdly shaped pieces into a grid while they fall down, if that makes any sense. Maybe I'll show you guys some day."

"Oh okay 'Mione. We should probably leave as soon as possible to beat the rush, so why don't you go quickly get changed? Don't worry, we'll wait down here." says Harry.

"Thanks Harry, I'll be down in a sec."

I run up the stairs and quickly change into a tank top and cardigan, with a pair jeans. I grab my shopping list, beaded purse, and wand before I run down again to meet my friends. Harry is sitting on my couch while Ginny and Ron are exploring the tech in the room and trying to figure it out. Ron in particular is turning the dials on the radio next to the TV.

"Okay, I'm ready to go guys! Should we floo there or apparate?" I ask as I sling my purse over my shoulder and adjust it.

"Floo would probably be best, it's easier. Especially since there's only 4 of us." says Ron. Of course he and Ginny would know what it's like trying to floo with too many people.

"Alright, let's go then." At that we all floo there one after the other, and arrive in Diagon Alley.

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Draco's POV

I wake up early today at 6am. I open my curtains to let in the early morning sunlight to my room. After I finish doing this, I go to my bathroom to take a quick shower and brush my teeth. When I finish, I walk out into my bedroom towel drying my hair. Grabbing my satchel and reviewing my shopping list mentally, I make my way downstairs to grab my breakfast.

I get down to the dining room, my parents are nowhere to be found, but they are obviously awake somewhere as my mother has made pancakes and there are a few missing. I sit down and quickly wolf down a couple of them as well as a cup of Earl Grey tea. When I finish I carry my dishes to the kitchen and soak them in the sink.

Walking down the hall, I grab my cloak and open the door to the gardens. It really is beautiful at this time of day out here. Many things help me wake up in the morning, sunlight, tea, and in Hogwarts it's coffee as the Slytherin dormitories don't let in much light. However I find that taking a walk in the crisp morning air really makes me feel fresh and ready to seize the day. I spend about 20 minutes just taking in the smells and sound of the nature around me, and appreciating the beauty of it. Most people would laugh at me now, Draco Malfoy the ex-Death Eater, spending my time appreciating the wonders of nature. I would be the laughing stock of Slytherin if any of them ever found out.

When I've sufficiently woken up, I make my way back to the Manor at a slightly brisker pace than before. I arrive to find my mother getting the last of her stuff ready.

"There you are Draco darling, thank you so much for helping with cleaning up breakfast." She says as she finishes putting on a set of black gloves on and hooks a small black, lacey, parasol on her right wrist.

"Your welcome mother, it's the least I could do." I say.

"Well we'd best be going now. It's a shame the ministry denied your father's request to come with us, but we aren't exactly the most trustworthy people on the planet." Very true, I hadn't expected the Ministry to say yes, but you'll never know if you don't try. It would have been nice to go to Diagon Alley one last time with the whole family. It would have been nice to go with a father who wouldn't berate me the whole time either.

We both walk past the wards protecting the manor and apparate there together. We appear in Diagon Alley only for me to see the Golden Trio walking out of the Leaky Cauldron. Could this day have taken any more of a drastic turn? I keep my head down and guide my mother to turn us away from them in the hopes that they won't notice us.

"Malfoy? Is that you? You'd dare to show your face here after everything your family did in the war?"

Of course, trust the Weasel to turn everything sour. I groan to myself and turn to face the red face of one Ronald Weasley. And here I thought we might be able to keep things civil.

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Author's Note: Sorry this is a short chapter, I'll try to make the next one slightly longer. Again please review, I will always accept feedback. Just so you guys know, I should be able to post a new chapter every other day, give or take a day or two based on my schedule and workload. Have a great week, till next time!


	4. Rivalries, Quills, & a Simple Fist Fight

Disclaimer: I do not own the Harry Potter franchise, nor anything affiliated with it.

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Hermione's POV

We had just walked out of the Leaky Cauldron when we bump into Malfoy and his mother. Of course, how could my day get any worse? Oh right, Ronald Weasley could open his big mouth. He just had to antagonize them. They weren't even doing anything. Wait, did I just defend Malfoy? I guess spending too much time inside by myself has addled my brain.

"Weasel, you may not have realized this but the world does not belong to anyone, least of all you. How about we avoid any conflict, and just continue on our merry ways?" Malfoy says in a slightly sarcastic tone. I'm surprised, he is trying to contain the argument as much as possible. Maybe he's matured a bit over the summer like… well I guess it's just Harry now.

"Yeah right Ferret, you probably found out we were going to be here today and decided to come here to attack us." I start trying to pull Ron away before this escalates and they both lose their cool. I notice Malfoy's mum starting to look very tense, almost scared.

"You should take the hint from the know-it-all behind you, look even Scar-Head over there has more brains than you!" I turn to look at Harry and see that he's looking about as nervous as Narcissa. I decide then to pinch Ron and see if that snaps him out of it.

"Ow 'Mione! Why did you pinch me!" Ron's face is very red and flustered but I don't care.

"I'm trying to save your's and the rest of our lives right now. We all know that Malfoy would easily beat you in a duel if it came to it. Let's leave them alone before any of us do anything we'll regret later." Oh my gosh, I already sound like a Head Girl and it's still a week before I'm supposed to fulfill that position.

"Ha, like I'd regret it." But I can tell Ron is seeing my point. "This isn't over Malfoy. If you lay even a finger on her this year, I swear to you that you won't live long enough to regret it." With that we walk off in the direction of Flourish and Blotts.

"I can't believe he had the cheek to show up here after everything he's done!" At that point Harry loses his cool, going from slightly nervous to completely furious.

"And I can't believe you actually did that back there! I know none of us like him, but you can't just threaten someone on the street like that! Especially since we're both about to become Aurors. We're supposed to be more responsible than this. Just because no one likes them, doesn't mean you won't get sent to Azkaban if you kill him." Wow, Harry has never reacted to Ron's immaturity like this before. I guess he's seen too much bloodshed the past few years. We all have, but Harry's had the worst of it.

"I agree with Harry, that was a very stupid move you bloody prat." Ginny looks as angry as Harry sounded. I feel proud of both of them.

"Since when did you all start acting like Hermione? Have you been meeting up during the summer planning different ways to yell at me?" says Ron is a flustered and accusing tone.

"No Ron, you're just such an arrogant prat sometimes! Just because Malfoy's a git, it doesn't mean you have to be as well!" It's only been one day and he's already annoying me. I don't know when it started, but at some point last year, he just starting really annoying all the time and being so arrogant. It's kind of sad actually because I always thought he was so nice and cute when we were younger.

"Alright, we'll continue this discussion later. I just need to pick up some parchment, ink, and quills from here. Ginny if you tell me how much you need of each I can get it at the same time and you can look for the rest of your stuff. Harry and Ron, feel free to go look at the quidditch store. We'll just be shopping around here for the next hour or so." It feels so natural to delegate the tasks. Kind of like when we were planning our night time adventures in Hogwarts. Oh how I've missed them.

"I need about 8 rolls of parchment, 5 bottles of ink, and 3 new quills. That should come to a total of about 10 galleons and 6 sickles. Here, you go."

"Thanks Ginny, how about we all meet up at the Leaky Cauldron again at about 12 to have lunch and then we can go visit Weasley's Wizard Wheezes." I say to the group. They nod and we all part ways.

I make my way to the writing section to grab all the supplies. I've just balanced everything and am making my way to the counter to pay for them, when I trip over someone's foot and everything flies everywhere. I feel a pair of strong arms catch me and help me up. I look up and see the concerned face of Draco Malfoy. I watch as his face transforms from an expression of concern, to one of confusion, then settling on one of disgust.

"Ew, I just touched a mudblood. Watch where you're going next time." Of course, why should I have expected any other reaction from a Pureblood like Malfoy? I feel kind of disappointed in him as I thought he'd changed a bit over the summer, but I guess he hasn't.

"Well if you have nothing else to say, I'll be on my way." Using my wand to help levitate the parchment, quills, and ink, I get to the counter and pay. When I'm done I deposit the bags into my purse and walk off to find my textbooks for this year.

Once I finish looking for my textbooks and browsing for more novels to read over the school year, I make my way over to the Leaky Cauldron to see a commotion ahead. I see Malfoy beating up Ron and I rush over. Harry and Ginny are watching in shock and Draco's mum is looking more and more pale, standing off to the side.

* * *

Draco's POV

I had just walked out of Flourish and Blotts when I met up with my mother again. I was too lost in thought about what had just happened to actually process what my mother was saying. I had helped Granger up after she fell over and when I first realized it was her I didn't feel repulsed like I usually did. I actually felt bad for her. I felt a need to comfort her, but I knew I had to keep up appearances so I put on a facade.

"-and so I ran into Mrs. Zabini when. Draco are you even listening to me?"

"Oh, sorry mum. You were saying something about Mrs. Zabini?" I'm surprised she's here. I guess Blaise is going back to school as well.

"Well, she was saying that her son, Blaise is sad that you won't be in the same dorm as you this year, but he was thinking maybe you guys could set up a study schedule to meet in the library every now then." We had just turned the corner to bump into Ron, all by himself and looking very angry.

"Watch where you're… Oh Malfoy! You're just the person I wanted to see." I push my mum behind me to protect her as the look in his eyes and the tone of his voice is starting to worry me.

"Oh, are you trying hide you little mummy. Are you afraid I'm going to hurt her, or mess up her already ugly face? At least I don't have the filth of Voldemort all over my family name." At that point I lose it and punch him squarely in the jaw.

"No. One. Talks. About. My. Mother. Like. That." Each word is punctuated by a punch to his jaw, or a kick to his shins. He takes a step back and lunges for me.

"I've been waiting to do this for a very long time." He says to me. All of a sudden I feel winded, like someone slammed a brick wall onto my chest. I find myself sprawled out on the ground on my side, and I feel him kick my gut a couple of times. When I hit the ground, I must have hit my head because I feel a lump starting to form on my forehead. I look up and see Weasley about to punch my face. I close my eyes and wait for the impact that never comes. I hear a thump and see Ron sprawled on the ground with Granger holding him down.

"Ronald Bilius Weasley! What were you thinking! I thought we talked some sense into you earlier!" Hermione thunders. She looks terrifying and I'm very glad that I'm not on the receiving end of her wrath right now. I feel very scared and I quickly get up and hobble over to my mother who looks like she's seen a ghost. I take a glance around and see Potter motioning for me to hurry up and leave before Ron gets back up. I run with my mum to the apparition point and we apparate as soon as we get there.

In an instant we're back at the Manor and I hobble down the path till we're inside, leaning on my mother for support. As soon as we get inside, my father comes out of his study to greet us.

"Hello, how are my… oh my goodness what happened?" My father just looks at the two of us in shock.

"We ran into… Potter's gang. Do you have… any ice…?" I still feel winded from when Ron shoved me earlier, and it didn't help at all when we apparated here.

My father rushes us both into the living room, to the couch by the fireplace. He urges both of us to sit and runs off to go get some ice for me, as well as water for all of us. In the whole time since the fight started till now, my mother has not said a word. I glance at her in concern and I see the she's still as pale as when we left.

"Mother, are you okay?" I'm starting to get more and more worried about her. I've never seen her react like this.

"I knew that the world didn't exactly like us, but I didn't think that they hated us that much. When you guys started fighting, no one tried to stop it. I was so scared, especially when you fell. I'm so glad that Granger girl, or whatever her name is, stepped in to help. If she hadn't, you would either be dead or in Azkaban." There was so much worry in her voice I couldn't resist giving her a hug. As soon as I did so, she starts crying.

"Shhh, it's all right mother, don't think about the what 'ifs'. What's done is done and nobody can change that." My father walks in with the ice in a blanket and some water. He steps in to calm my mother down and hands me a glass of water with the ice.

I slowly climb the stairs and go to my room. Taking the ice pack and sticking it on my forehead. I lay there for about half an hour just going over what happened in my head. When I think that the swelling has gone down enough, I get up, put the ice on my dresser, and go to my bathroom. I undress and step into the shower, turning it as hot as I can stand. As soon as I step in, I lose myself in the soothing feel of the water beating down my back.

* * *

Author's Note: I think this is my longest chapter so far. I hope you guys enjoy it. Just a reminder that I really appreciate feedback, and please review! That's all for now, have a wonderful week!


	5. A Knock, a Rant, & Painful Memories

Disclaimer: I do not own the Harry Potter franchise, nor anything affiiated with it. I also do not own any songs used in this fic, all rights to those songs belong to the artists, go support their work on Youtube, Spotify, or other music platforms.

* * *

Hermione's POV

I'm making myself dinner when I hear a knock at the door. I put down the ladle I'm using to stir the pot of penne, turn off the stove to let it simmer, and walk over to the door. I check through the peephole to see Ron standing at my door.

"Hermione?" He calls out. "I know you're in there. Why are you ignoring me?" I scoff quietly at his words. I open the door, leaning against the frame with one hand on my hip.

"You don't know why I'm ignoring you? I'm pretty sure both Harry and I have been very clear about why we're upset. Harry may have cooled down a bit, but that doesn't mean I have or even will anytime soon.

We all told you to leave Malfoy and his mother alone. Then as soon as we leave you by yourself so we can go shopping in peace, you go and start a fight with him! You could have killed him and ended up in Azkaban! You're a war hero, one of the most famous, and you were in a very busy place surrounded by lots of children. Just think of the example you were setting for them.

Mainly though, I'm ignoring you because you were being a pig-headed, arrogant, thoughtless, fool!" My rant leaves me breathing a little heavier than before. He just doesn't get it, and he never will. No matter how many times we try to get it into his head, he still thinks he can just waltz around getting himself into fights with everyone. He'll say he's sorry and do exactly what he said he would NEVER, EVER do.

"Mione, you know I try my best." There's a pleading tone in his voice and it irritates me so much. But what annoys me even more and just throws me over the edge is the fact that he threw in my nickname almost to try and calm me down or appeal to my softer side. If he wasn't one of my best friends, I would have slapped him like I did Malfoy in third year.

"No, Ronald, this is not your best! You actively go looking for trouble, and you just can't do that anymore. You have NEVER understood when you've gone too far, when you've pushed the limits. You're pushing my resolve to the very edge. If this is truly your best then I feel very sorry for you, because no one would be able to stand someone whose best isn't acceptable in most of society!" I can feel the anger coursing through my veins, and I see Ron start to shrink as he realizes that I am almost at my breaking point. I can tell he's also shocked that I just insulted him like I did right there, but he smart enough to not make a big deal about it and just stay quiet. Behind the anger in my eyes though, lies an undercurrent of sadness.

Trying to hold back tears, I finish what I started. "So if this is how you try to apologize, by making excuses and pretending you didn't do anything wrong, then I don't want to see your face around here or near me at all. You can come back once you realize where you failed, and try to improve."

With that I slam the door and run upstairs to my bathroom. Trying to blink back the traitorous tears leaking down the side of my face, I splash my face with water from the sink and attempt to calm down. I walk out to my bedroom and sit on the bed, taking shuddering breaths and hiccuping because of the ache in my throat. Taking a couple of slow, deliberate, breaths, I feel my heart rate slow down from the racing pulse of it earlier. I reach over to my side table and pick up my phone and earbuds. Ignoring the fact that I haven't had dinner yet and the pasta is still on the stove getting cold now, I plug the earbuds into my phone and lie down on my bed. I pick my "melancholy music" playlist and hit shuffle. I find that when I'm sad, its soothing to get as sad as possible by re-living the hardest moments in my life, getting it all out, so that I can move on till the next time I feel sad.

The first song that comes on is Save Myself by Ed Sheeran.

 _I gave all my oxygen to people that could breathe  
_ _I gave away my money and now we don't even speak  
_ _I drove miles and miles, but would you do the same for me?  
_ _Oh, honestly?_

This song reminds me of all the times I helped my friends. With homework, schemes, or just having fun, I always helped them. I was rarely thanked, not that I thought it mattered at the time, but after a while I began to think that they took my help for granted. Which really hurt since they were some of the first people who really appreciated me besides my parents.

 _Offered off my shoulder just for you to cry upon  
_ _Gave you constant shelter and a bed to keep you warm  
_ _They gave me the heartache and in return I gave a song  
_ _It goes on and on_

At first all of this was fine, but then I started asking them for help. The first few times they were confused, "Hermione Granger asking for help?" It was just for small things, asking if they had any spare paper, if they remembered what the homework was. They didn't understand or realize that something was going on. This all started happening around the time in fourth year, when we first saw the Dark Mark and Harry ended up in the tournament. I became increasingly anxious and, though it doesn't show much on my grades, my performance was slipping. I would forget to plan my homework and pulled all-nighters. I forgot to bring certain supplies to class and had to borrow from others. A lot of it seems trivial now, but it seemed like such a big deal at the time.

 _Life can get you down so I just numb the way it feels  
_ _I drown it with a drink and out-of-date prescription pills  
_ _And all the ones that love me they just left me on the shelf  
_ _No farewell  
_ _So before I save someone else, I've got to save myself_

I began drowning in my work, though I never really showed it. I gave up on asking Harry and Ron for help, and instead would work with Luna or Neville. We would meet in the library when Harry and Ron were at Quidditch practises to avoid suspicion and questions. Even then I was helping Neville with stuff that he struggled on, even as both him and Luna helped me. It was a kind of mentorship thing and it worked for a while. Then the fears started taking over again and I would spend a lot of time lost in thought about "what ifs".

 _I gave you all my energy and I took away your pain  
_ _'Cause human beings are destined to radiate or dream  
_ _What line do we stand upon 'cause from here looks the same?  
_ _And only scars remain_

The Yule ball rolled around in our fourth year and Ron never asked me to the dance. I'd loved Ron since third year, but I didn't think much about it till then. I waited and waited for him, but the thought never crossed his mind. He finally asked me, but it was a last minute thought. I felt really hurt then, and accepted Viktor's offer to go with him. Then at the ball he had the nerve to make fun of the one person who really cared about me at the time and insult my judgement. He argued with me and made me feel horrible, our fight drawing the attention of almost everyone around us.

Later on in fifth year I helped Harry with advice for Cho. In sixth year, both Harry and I were ignored by the ones who we loved and consoled each other. Love really started to hurt and I wondered if I'd ever look at it the same way or if I'd start to become numb to my feelings of longing that I kept hidden inside. I began to think that by suppressing those feelings I'd build up resistance to them and eventually just stop feeling anything.

 _Life can get you down so I just numb the way it feels  
_ _I drown it with a drink and out-of-date prescription pills  
_ _And all the ones that love me they just left me on the shelf  
_ _No farewell  
_ _So before I save someone else, I've got to save myself_

The threat of Voldemort began to weigh heavily on my mind in sixth year and I began to worry not just for Harry, Ron, and myself, but for my parents as well. I worried that the Death Eaters might go after them. I couldn't bear it if they died because of me. All the stress messed with my head, but I kept up a mask to prevent a flood of emotion from rushing out. I began to get very good at it, only cracking a couple of times, like when Ron and Lavender kissed after the Quidditch match and ran in on me and Harry consoling each other. I cracked, attacked him with enchanted birds, then sobbed into Harry's arms.

 _But if don't  
_ _Then I'll go back  
_ _To where I'm rescuing a stranger  
_ _Just because they needed saving just like that  
_ _Oh, I'm here again  
_ _Between the devil and the danger  
_ _But I guess it's just my nature  
_ _My dad was wrong  
_ _'Cause I'm not like my mum  
_ _'Cause she'd just smile and I'm complaining in a song_

 _But it helps_

 _So before I save someone else  
_ _I've got to save myself_

After that I was determined to get stronger and it worked for a while. Then Dumbledore died after the Death Eater attack and the stress, paranoia, and haunting thoughts returned. When I got back home that summer, I came up with the plan to obliviate my parents and send them to Australia. Unfortunately it didn't work in the end, and they died anyway when I tried to bring them back after the war.

Then there was the deal with Ron. When he left us in the forest, he broke my heart for the third time. Once again he left me alone, and Harry had to deal with the mess he left behind; me. When he came back I forgave him and we were okay for a time, but our relationship was forever tainted in my eyes. I began to realize that I didn't love him the way I once did, and I started drifting away from him, particularly after the war.

I drifted away slightly from everyone because of the death of my parents. I retreated into a shell, but when my friends asked me how I was, I replied that I was fine. I wish they had tried harder to see what was going on, but I can't fault them for not understanding my mixed signals. Although I enjoyed many memories with my friends in our last years at Hogwarts, I would always remember the stress, hate, heartbreak, and pain that came with it.

 _Life can get you down so I just numb the way it feels  
_ _I drown it with a drink and out-of-date prescription pills  
_ _And all the ones that love me they just left me on the shelf  
_ _No farewell  
_ _So before I save someone else, I've got to save myself_

 _And before I blame someone else, I've got to save myself  
_ _And before I love someone else, I've got to love myself_

As the song ends, I relax and feel my tears start to stop. I roll over to my side and remove one earbud. As soon as I finish that, I start drifting off to some much needed sleep.

* * *

Author's Note: This has more to do with the lyric content, but I don't condone drugs and alcohol especially since I know most of y'all are probably under age. Unfortunately Ed Sheeran's songs aren't the most PG in my opinon, but the underlying message is what I was trying to get at. I'm sorry if anyone was upset by this. Please review or send me a Private Message by clicking the little envelope icon at the top near my name. I'd really like to hear feedback on this chapter in particular as it's the first time I've incorporated a song into the story. Any and all suggestions are welcome. Thank you all for reading, and I hope you have a wonderful week. Till next time!


	6. Goodbyes, Early Arrivals, & Music

Disclaimer: I do not own the Harry Potter franchise, nor anything affiliated with it. I also do not own any songs used in this fic, all rights to those songs belong to the artists, go support their work on Youtube, Spotify, or other music platforms.

* * *

Draco's POV

I wake up earlier than usual today; probably because of nerves and anticipation since this is the last time I'm going off to Hogwarts. I shower and brush my teeth quickly, then double check my suitcase to make sure I have everything.

"All right, I have my uniforms, casual clothes, dress robes, suit in case no one is wearing dress robes, cloak, pajamas, underwear, socks, mittens, hat, scarf, quills, parchment, ink, envelopes, textbooks, reading books, wizarding chess board… I think that's it. Oh wait, my guitar! I can't leave that behind."

I scurry over to my closet and pull out my guitar from where it lies next to my spare suitcase. I pick it up before jogging back to my stuff so I can finish checking everything.

I close the lid on the suitcase and latch it shut, placing a lock spell on it. I pull out my satchel and check to make sure I have my water flask, journal, wand, special replenishing ink quill, my most current book, and coin purse.

*creak*

"Draco, if you're done packing here, we'll have breakfast before we leave." Says my mother standing at the entrance of my room.

"Yeah, just give me a minute." I reply. She nods before shutting the door quietly behind her.

I put the satchel on, look around my room for the last time till the next break, and shut the door to my room.

I walk down to breakfast and sit at the table. My mother has made scrambled eggs with feta and spinach bits, and bacon. I put both of them on an English muffin and eat it quickly.

As soon as I'm done eating I collect my suitcase and stand with my mother at the door to leave for King's Cross station.

"Draco," I look up at my father standing opposite me in the hallway and wringing his hands. He looks at me, eyes filled with sadness. "I hope you know that I will always love you and your mother."

"I know father, I truly do, I'll visit as soon as I can." My words shock me. I hadn't though about that before but they just popped into my head. "Don't give up in Azkaban, I know you'll make it through." Even though Malfoys rarely show affection, I walk over to give my father a big hug and I'm surprised to feel him hug me back. After a few seconds, we break apart and I join my mother once again. With a sense of impending doom we apparate to King's Cross after crossing past the wards of the manor.

Crossing through the barrier we see the Hogwarts Express waiting in the station. Many first years look at it in awe and I feel a small smile on my face. I wish I was that young again, that I'd be able to see the train and just marvel at it.

After having given my mother a smaller hug than I gave my father and waving goodbye to her, I walk onto the train with my trunk and find my compartment. The head's have their own compartment and I decide to sit there, even though Granger will probably be there as well, because I just can't bring myself to sit with my old friends.

I get to the cabin and true enough Granger is already there. She appears to be using some sort of flat looking book that glows. Except that she's placed it on her lap on it's side so that it's horizontal. Books really shouldn't be a stiff and straight as that. She's pushing little buttons on it and it's making something appear on the face of it. There's also a white cord going from her ear to the book thing and I wonder if it's some muggle medical device or something.

"Hello Granger." I say as I nod in her direction, trying to keep the confusion off of my face.

"Malfoy." She says as she glances up briefly, then continues what she's doing.

We both seem to come to a non-verbal decision to not rile each other up today. After that small interaction we just mind our own business. I pull out a book to read, glancing up, every now and then to try and figure out what she's doing. She catches me staring at one point and laughs.

"That's right, you wouldn't know what this is seeing as how you detest us muggles and muggleborns so much." There's a little glimmer in her eye that I notice wasn't there when we had met last week in Diagon Alley. "This is a computer, or a laptop." She says as she removes the white nub from her ear. "It is a piece of muggle tech that you can use to do different things, like write, more easily and faster. For example I'm using a system, kind of like when you charm something, to write a story. The buttons on the lower half of the laptop each correspond with a different letter, number, or symbol. When you press the keys, it will type them on the screen."

"What else can you do with it?" I ask, my curiosity getting the better of me. She just smirks in response. I feel my face turn a bit red in embarrassment, which with my skin tone means that I look like a tomato. She giggles a bit before answering my question.

"Well you can put music onto it and play it from the speakers in computer, similar to the sonorus charm, or from these things." As she says this she holds up the white nubs on the white cord. "These are called earbuds. Here, why don't you have a listen." She hold up one of the 'earbuds' and motions for me to sit down next to her. I do so without thinking about how it might look to other people, and she shows me how to put it in my ear. It feels a little uncomfortable, but not too much. She then hits a triangle button on one of the sections on the glowing part of the 'computer'. I hear the sound of a song start playing in my ear.

"What's the name of the song?" It starts with a guitar melody and an underlying sound of a piano.

"The name of the song is Let Her Go by a band called Passenger. Surely you know what a band is right?" I can tell she's mocking me a bit now but I just ignore her.

 _Well you only need the light when it's burning low  
_ _Only miss the sun when it starts to snow  
_ _Only know you love her when you let her go  
_ _Only know you've been high when you're feeling low  
_ _Only hate the road when you're missing home  
_ _Only know you love her when you let her go  
_ _And you let her go_

She begins to hum along with it, closing her eyes, and swaying her head a little bit to the music. There's a smile on her face that I've never seen before. It's more relaxed than the one she has around Scarface and Weaselbee.

Staring at the bottom of your glass

 _Hoping one day you'll make a dream last  
_ _But dreams come slow and they go so fast  
_ _You see her when you close your eyes  
_ _Maybe one day you'll understand why  
_ _Everything you touch surely dies_

I realize that I actually like this song, and I listen as hard as I can so I can try to play it on my guitar later.

 _'Cause you only need the light when it's burning low  
_ _Only miss the sun when it starts to snow  
_ _Only know you love her when you let her go  
_ _Only know you've been high when you're feeling low  
_ _Only hate the road when you're missing home  
_ _Only know you love her when you let her go_

I start liking the song more and more, and I try taping and arranging my fingers on the table as if visualizing how to play it on the guitar.

 _Staring at the ceiling in the dark  
_ _Same old empty feeling in your heart  
_ _Love comes slow and it goes so fast  
_ _Well you see her when you fall asleep  
_ _But never to touch and never to keep  
_ _'Cause you loved her too much and you dive too deep_

She opens her eyes and I feel her looking at me with a slight smirk on her face. I guess she's noticed that I'm actually enjoying the music.

 _'Cause you only need the light when it's burning low  
_ _Only miss the sun when it starts to snow  
_ _Only know you love her when you let her go  
_ _Only know you've been high when you're feeling low  
_ _Only hate the road when you're missing home  
_ _Only know you love her when you let her go_

 _And you let her go  
_ _Oh oh oh no  
_ _And you let her go  
_ _Oh oh oh no  
_ _And you let her go_

"Do wizards have any way of recording and playing songs?" she asks me. Her question surprises me as I thought that she would know.

 _Well, you only need the light when it's burning low  
_ _Only miss the sun when it starts to snow  
_ _Only know you love her when you let her go  
_ _Only know you've been high when you're feeling low  
_ _Only hate the road when you're missing home  
_ _Only know you love her when you let her go_

"Well, most pureblood wizards and witches just listen to old records on a record player with a horn to make the sound louder. I believe it's called a phonograph. If you want to listen to a song from modern days, we learn to play it on an instrument and perform it for ourselves. Because of this, most purebloods are good a playing music by ear and rarely use sheet music."

 _'Cause you only need the light when it's burning low  
_ _Only miss the sun when it starts to snow  
_ _Only know you love her when you let her go  
_ _Only know you've been high when you're feeling low  
_ _Only hate the road when you're missing home  
_ _Only know you love her when you let her go_

 _And you let her go_

"Wow, we haven't used record players in the muggle world for a while now." She thinks about this for a little bit. Then she asks for the earbud back. I give it back to her and she goes back to typing on her … book thing, whatever it's called. We spend the rest of the journey in silence, only talking to the trolley cart lady to order food when she comes by.

When we get near Hogwarts, Granger recommends we change into our robes so I go to the nearest bathroom to do so while she changes in the cabin with the blinds down.

* * *

Author's Note: Again, please review, your feedback means a lot to me. The songs that Hermione will be playing should all be in this playlist, however, not all the songs will be used: Writing Playlist on YouTube, the account is Pokey_314, unfortunately Fanfiction does not let me post URLs. This is also the playlist I listen to when writing as the name suggests.

Thank you for reading, and have a nice week! Till next time.


	7. Tables, Sorting, & Wall Sockets

Disclaimer: I do not own the Harry Potter franchise, nor anything affliated with it.

* * *

Hermione's POV

We arrive at Hogsmeade Station, so Draco and I have to sit in the Head's carriage. This year I can see the thestrals as they lead us up to Hogwarts, I reckon most of the students can. I still can't believe I didn't know they existed till Harry made us ride them to the Ministry. Both Draco and I sit in silence, trying to take in the mostly dark view outside. It takes us about 20 minutes to get to the castle itself, about 20 minutes of silence between us, and another 10 to be able to get to the doors and get out of the carriage.

We walk into the hall, and I see that though there are the main house tables, the 8th years are all to share a table at the back. Draco and I sit on opposite ends of the table, while most of the returning students still sit based on house. Headmistress McGonagall stands up when everyone is seated, motioning for everyone to settle down and stop talking.

"Welcome students, to another year at Hogwarts. A big welcome especially, to our first years and our returning class of 8th year students. We will begin the sorting ceremony now." She then sits down and Professor Flitwick stands up to call the names of the first years.

"Carroll, Sharon" Says Professor Flitwick.

"Gryffindor!" Shouts the hat after some deliberation. The rest of the ceremony is pretty much the same.

"Doorley, Mavin"

"Slytherin!"

"Elkin, Dominic"

"Hufflepuff!"

"Grant, Alice"

"Ravenclaw!"

This process continues with a total of 7 new Gryffindors, 8 new Slytherins, 6 new Hufflepuffs, and 9 new Ravenclaws, a lot less kids than usual. I guess parents were hesitant to let their kids go to Hogwarts after what happened, not to mention Voldemort destroyed all the records of new muggleborns so they wouldn't have been able to send out letters to them as easily as usual. This year there are less insults called out from rivaling houses and I'm glad. I thought it was awful when Fred and George used to boo new Slytherin students, that was just plain mean. McGonagall gets up again to address us.

"Older students, I'm sure you remember all the rules. First years, no going into the Forbidden Forest, no walking in the halls after curfew, and no going into the Restricted section. I know a lot of students have been requesting this, so I'm sure a lot of you guys will be happy to know that we installed WiFi into the school during the repairs we made to the castle over the summer. The password is SherbertLemons, no space between the words, in honour of our late Headmaster Dumbledore. That will be all, remember that we are trying to encourage house unity, so try to be nice. Enjoy the feast!" I see many purebloods being very confused at the WiFi bit, and I laugh quietly to myself with many muggleborns and half-bloods.

At that, the tables filled themselves with piles of food. I immediately reach for the mashed potatoes, roast lamb, gravy, and roasted vegetables. I have a glass of pumpkin juice and some bread and butter pudding for dessert. Once everyone finishes, the prefects lead everyone to their dorms, and McGonagall calls Malfoy and I into her office.

We walk in and sit in front of her desk. She then looks at us for a moment and then speaks, "I know what the history is between you two, but I really believe that if you put aside your differences, you will realize how similar you are to each other. Please try to pretend to get along at least, we need to set a good example for our other, younger students. Alright, moving on, you do know where the Head's dorms are correct?"

We both nod our heads and she just says, "Okay." Before continuing onto the next topic.

"The password is currently Phoenix Wings, but you can change it once you've given the portrait the set password. If you have any problems with the accommodation, feel free to Owl me or just talk to me about it. I think that covers everything, so off you go."

With that she shoos us out and sends us on our way. We walk together in silence till we reach the rooms. The dorm is set one floor above the library down a quiet side hallway. The portrait is of a small boy and girls happily playing with a kite in a field. We state the password, and they let us in. We'll probably change it later on.

To the right is the common room, which has a light brown wallpaper with dark hardwood floors. There is a soft gold carpet next to the fireplace and the couch. The couch is a deep green with red accent cushions. The fireplace is the same colour as the floor but with gold and silver vines twirling around the edges and on top of the mantle. There is also a small wooden bench inlaid in the wall next to a window. The bench is covered with a small cushion that fits perfectly and and extra silver and gold striped pillow.

To the left is a small kitchenette with a white marble counter, silver oven, and gold edged overhead cabinets. There is also a small white fridge and wooden cabinets under the counter. The sink is stainless steel, has two sections in it.

Directly in front of us is a set of dark wooden stairs that spiral out of sight. We walk up the stairs together and there are two doors that would lead to rooms above the kitchenette and common room. The door on the left has a silver handle with small green vines twirled around it, and the door on the right has a gold handle with roses dotted on it. We walk into our rooms and shut the doors at the same time. My trunk is already at the foot of my bed, but I'm too tired to unpack right now.

I look around and see that the colour scheme is the standard red and gold. The bed is just like the beds in our old dorms, but slightly bigger. The closet looks like the one in Narnia, one of my favourite book series. There is a dresser drawer and a desk. Above the desk, the wall feels slightly sticky. I guess that means that you can place things on the wall without tacks or sticking charms.

I sit down on the edge of my bed and feel the mattress sink a little, but not too much. I pull out my phone and laptop and plug them into the wall socket. Then I unlock both of them and connect them to the WiFi. I'm glad I have WiFi, as it means that I can play music from YouTube as well. I put them down, and get up to briefly check out the bathroom.

I walk into it and see that it connects to both rooms. Yay, that means Malfoy could walk in on me if I don't lock the door and vice versa. The bathroom has two sinks; one with red accents and the other with green, two shower stalls; one with a red curtain and another with a green curtain, and one toilet cubicle in the corner. I'm about to leave when I hear Malfoy curse, "Ow! What the bloody hell?!" Curiosity getting the better of me, I open the door to Malfoy's room and see him holding his arm, a pair of tweezers, and sitting next to a wall socket.

* * *

Draco's POV

After Granger and I part ways, I walk into my room and explore a little bit. Most of the colours are silver or green. The bed is similar to our old ones, but slightly bigger. I put down my satchel on the chair in front of the desk and pull out my journal and wand. I put the journal with my wand and quill on the side table next to the bed. I'm about to sit down when I see a small rectangle on the wall with little rectangular holes in it. I've seen them before, but I never found out what they do. I walk over and sit down in front of it. I look at it for a while studying it. After examining it for a few minutes, I pull out a small pair of tweezers from my luggage and poke it into the hole. I feel a jolt go up my arm and after it feels like it's buzzing. More from shock than anything else, I curse, "Ow! What the bloody hell?!"

I hear the bathroom door open and see Granger looking at me. Then she bursts out laughing. She laughs like this for a minute or so till she calms down. The whole time I just glare at her. "You don't know what a wall socket is do you?"

I look down and mumble a "no". She still has traces of a smile on her face while she explains that it conducts electricity to 'charge' things like her laptop and phone, or power things like lamps. She explains that metal conducts electricity very well, and that I just got a jolt of electricity. I hope that this kind of stuff doesn't keep happening, I don't like not knowing what stuff is, and having Granger teach me does nothing to help my ego.

After she finishes explaining she just kind of stands there. I don't know why, but I suddenly say, "You can go now Granger. I don't need your mudblood filth contaminating my room." I can see an expression of hurt flit across her face, immediately followed by anger. Great now I've messed up everything again. Why couldn't I just keep my mouth shut? Stupid habits.

"Seriously? After I just helped you twice today? Fine, but that's the last time I satisfy your curiosity on muggle items. Don't think I can't see your expression of wonder when I explain things to you. You're like Mr. Weasley in terms of your curiosity, you just hide it because you're too afraid to let go of your muggle biases." With that she storms off to her room and slams her door shut. I sigh before getting up to shut my bathroom door as well.

I change into my pyjamas and crawl into bed, trying to decide what to make of what Granger said. Do I really have a fascination with muggle technology? Why am I so curious about it? After spending about half an hour just thinking, I give up and pull my guitar out of my suitcase. I put an undetectable extension charm at the bottom of the suitcase that lets me fit my guitar in its case underneath everything. That way I can avoid questions about it from my friends and family.

I pull it out and try to remember the tune of the song she played on the train earlier today. Before I start playing however, I make sure to cast a muffliato to prevent Granger from hearing it. I start slowly at first, but by the end of the song it feels like I've known this song since forever. When I'm done, I put down the guitar and go to bed. This time I fall asleep almost immediately.

* * *

Author's Note: Please read and review. Feedback is always welcome. Thank you for reading, and have a nice week.


	8. Muggle Studies, a Quiz, & a Laptop

Disclaimer: I do not own the Harry Potter franchise, nor anything affiliated with it.

* * *

Hermione's POV

A week has passed since we got to school and both of us have managed to avoid each other as much as possible. For meals we sit on opposite ends of the table. For patrol, I take the shifts on odd days of the month like September 1, 3, 5, 7 etc., and Malfoy takes the shifts on even days of the month. Most of our classes are together, but we haven't been partnered for anything yet so it hasn't been a problem. Thankfully going to shower and using the bathroom hasn't been an issue as Malfoy prefers to shower in the morning and gets up at 6 am. I on the other hand, prefer to shower just before I go to bed and I wake up at 7:30am.

We are sitting in the Great Hall eating breakfast on the Monday of our second week back at school when the Headmistress gets up to make an announcement.

"Attention students, I have an announcement to make. A new decision was made at the end of last week with all the teachers. In order to promote house unity and to help deal with the discrimination against muggles, muggleborns, half-bloods, and even purebloods, it is now mandatory for all students to take muggle studies every year. It has been made the new compulsory course. Your timetables have been updated and if you have any questions you can ask your teachers or Head of House. That will be all." As soon as she finishes speaking, everyone pulls out their timetable to see what course was swapped out with Muggle Studies.

For me it's been switched in place of Study of Ancient Runes, which is okay as I already know most of the information that would have been taught this year. Many students start complaining about it and many muggleborns are confused as to why they have to take it seeing as how they've grown up with all of this stuff. My first class would have been Ancient Runes so I have Muggle Studies first period now. I finish eating and leave early to drop off my Ancient Runes textbook in my room as I don't need it anymore. When I eventually get to my class I see Malfoy is in my class as well. That leaves only 1 class we aren't in together now for this semester.

Professor Carrington, who is the newly appointed Muggle Studies professor, invites us all in and many of us sit in groups based on our houses. The classroom is filled with many different pieces of muggle tech including, but not limited to, a toaster, fridge, microwave, old desktop computer and monitor, laptops, a boombox, tv, a few landline phones, smart phones, game consoles, dishwashers, washing machines, dryers, irons, dvd and vcr players, and a smart board.

Instead of the usual chairs and desks that are standard in Hogwarts classes, we have the tables and plastic chairs that you would find in a muggle classroom. Professor Carrington is a female about 5'6", with blonde hair, and from Southern England. She tends to wear dark blue robes and has her hair in a bun tied with a light blue ribbon. She stands at the front of the classroom and claps to get everyone's attention.

"Hello, students? I know many of you are very confused about what is going on with this class so I'll explain everything now. Most of you are new to this class and hadn't planned on taking it so I'll review. My original class has already started some work, but since I knew there might have been some changes, it was just some get to know you activities and not much actual work."

"This class will be done in partner groups. A muggleborn will be partnered with a pureblood from a different house from your own, the muggleborn will act as a kind of tutor or point of reference and insight into the muggle world. For the half-bloods, you will be partnered with another half-blood, but depending on your understanding of each world, you will choose which one you want to study. Each class will have an "umbrella" topic, and you will conduct your own study of it. For example, if we were doing a unit on communication and the lesson was on sending longer messages, you might study how electronic mail works, or how owls understand your instructions and send your mail without getting lost."

"So now that that is out of the way, I will move on to the groupings. The groups will be permanent for the semester, and cannot be changed. Since I'm a new teacher, I have not made them very biased so if you hate your partner you'll have to learn how to deal with it."

"Neville Longbottom and Cho Chang"

"Pansy Parkinson and Ernie MacMillan"

"Padma Patil and Zacharias Smith"

"Michael Corner and Tracy Davis"

"Anthony Goldstein and Hannah Abbott"

"Terry Boot and Amalie Greengrass"

"Blaise Zabini and Justin Finch-Fletchley"

"Dean Thomas and Millicent Bulstrode"

"Draco Malfoy and Hermione Granger"

Of course I was paired with ferret, I honestly should have seen it coming. The list from what I could tell was organised so each pairing listed pure-bloods first and then muggleborns. Based on that, I noticed that the Slytherin's actually weren't all purebloods and I found that extremely amusing. There were two half-blood pairings which were Dean's pair and Anthony's pair.

"All right, go sit with your partner now, and make sure that there are two pairings at a table."

I pick up my stuff and move to where Malfoy is sitting as I know he won't get up to move next to me. When I sit down, he doesn't even look up at me. He just continues writing something in a notebook. I lean over a little bit to get a glimpse of what he's writing and he immediately snaps the book shut. He glares at me and pulls out his textbook and folder for the class. I realize that he's had Muggle Studies from the beginning of 8th year. Wow, so his schedule actually didn't change.

"Alright we'll start simple today, I will pick up or point to an object in this room and ask a pureblood student to name it. You can ask for help from your muggleborn partner 1 time and that is it. Half-bloods will all be quizzed."

"The first student will be Malfoy, what it this?" She says pointing to something I can't quite see from where I'm sitting.

"Um, a laptop?"

"Yes Mr. Malfoy, well done." I feel kind of happy he got it right, and a sense of pride as I taught him what it was last week on the train.

"And this?"

"Earbuds."

"Correct." I'm actually kind of surprised that he's remembering the names as well as he is.

"And this?" She points at a wall socket, and I start to giggle. Malfoy kicks me under the table and I suppress an "ow". With a slight blush on his face he responds.

"A wall socket."

"Well done Malfoy, the rest of you will have to see if you can as well as him."

Two other purebloods get it all right, but the rest get 1, maybe 2 right answers. She then hands out a sheet with the names of different objects on the sheet. Next to it are some lines to write definitions on.

"For homework this week, I want you to look up these things on a laptop. Many of the muggleborns and half-bloods brought their own laptops or have had their parents send them by owl, but the purebloods can see me after class to either borrow one from the school or purchase one from us. Much of our homework this year will be completed through the laptops, so it is mandatory to have one, or at least access to one. That will be all for today, feel free to explore the stuff in the room."

Many of the purebloods line up to procure a laptop, but Malfoy stays behind. I turn to him and ask him why he isn't getting up.

"Well, many of them will take awhile to get it and I don't want to wait around for the next 20 minutes in line. I'll wait till most of them are done and then get it. Don't worry Granger, I won't be borrowing your filthy computer to finish my homework. Speaking of which, I'm gonna have to get you to show me how to "search" this information on the laptop." I find it funny how he didn't ask the last bit as a question, instead he took a more indirect route and turned it into a statement, or rather command, instead. I ignore the obvious disrespect he's showing me since I don't want to get in a fight with him again.

"Well, I can probably show you tonight after dinner. But just know that the more you insult me, the less I'm going to help you, even if I lose marks for not being at good 'tutor'." I reply.

"Fine. It's a deal then." By this point the line had almost completely cleared. Malfoy got up and went to get a laptop. When he came back I saw it was a simple Chromebook. I guess we'll be using Google apps this year.

Class gets dismissed shortly after, so I get up and head over to my next class.

* * *

Author's Note: In case it wasn't clear, the muggleborns are Cho, Ernie, Zacharias, Tracy, Amalie, Justin, and of course Hermione. The pure bloods are Neville, Pansy, Padma, Michael, Terry, Blaise, and obviously Draco. The half-bloods as far as I know are Anthony, Hannah, Dean, Millicent. Please read and review, and thank you for reading. Have a wonderful week, till next time.


	9. Parchment, Flowers, & Granger's Hair

Disclaimer: I don't own the Harry Potter franchise, nor anything affiliated with it.

* * *

Draco's POV

I'm surprised at how easily Granger agreed to help me. I hate asking for help, but I promised my father that I would at least be somewhat civil. I look at the special bag that contains my new laptop, and a long cord that makes it work for a certain period of time. I think it's called a charger. As I'm a Malfoy, I bought it instead or borrowing it. When I looked at it earlier, I realized that it was smaller than Granger's, I wonder why. Guess I'll have to ask her later when we do our homework. I'm pulled out of my thoughts when I feel Blaise poke my shoulder.

"Dude, why are you spacing out so often? Has Granger put a spell on you? You've been ignoring us a lot lately."

"Granger hasn't done anything but annoy me as much as usual. I've just been bored in classes, I was here for a decent part of last year so I know most of the curriculum, but it would still be a good idea to actually pass the NEWTS."

"Fine, but I still think something's up with you. Anyway Slughorn just assigned us a potion to be completed in pairs, we're partners right?"

"Yeah yeah, sure. What potion?" But at that point Blaise had already left, a little faster than I expected, to tell Slughorn our partner groups and get ingredients. When he came back, I didn't even get a chance to ask him what it was again.

"Alright, first we need to drop in one Ashwinder egg, a handful of rose thorns, and refined peppermint oil." I quickly put them into the cauldron and wait for the next instruction.

"Next add in the moonstone and stir until steam starts to rise, it should rise in swirls." He says when I've finished everything he said earlier.

"Now we just have to put it into a container and hand it in to Slughorn. Just make sure it has a mother of pearl sheen to it." He tells me finally and I lean down to scoop out some of it and bottle it up.

"Why does it suddenly smell like parchment, flowers, and wait… is that Granger's hair?" I look at Blaise and see him dissolve into a fit of laughter.

"Oh that is too good!" He exclaims. I just look at him impatiently.

"What's so funny Zabini? What's the potion called?"

"You weren't paying attention in class, and I didn't believe your earlier answer about why you were distracted so I didn't tell you the name of the potion so I could test you and have unbiased results."

"What is it, just spit it out!" I yell at him. A couple students glance in our direction before I glare at them and they turn back quickly to their work.

"It's Amortentia! I can't figure out what's more funny, that you like flowers or that you like Granger." He goes straight back to laughing and I just turn a bit red.

I feel shocked at how much of myself I've just given away to Blaise. He may be my best friend from Slytherin, but I don't trust any of my friends. I don't exactly want any of this information, both about the flowers and any rumours about my non-existent feelings for Granger, getting around for the whole school to hear.

"Not a word to anyone else, especially Granger and the rest of my friends, or I swear I will hex you into oblivion!" I say as I pull my wand out and press it into his side.

"Nah man don't worry, I wouldn't do that to you, but that is too precious!" He says while trying to control his laughter and finally calming down a bit by the look on his face, I can tell he's serious, but I'm still in shock about this discovery.

Blaise and I hand the potion in to Slughorn, then go back and just wait till class is over. I spend the whole time thinking about whether or not I truly like Granger. I eventually pull out my journal and start a list of things I like and dislike about her.

Dislike

She's a know-it-all

She's stubborn

She doesn't back down

She's punched me in the face

She knows more about muggles and wizards than me

She laughed at me when I touched the wall socket

Everyone likes her

Like

She loves books

She's smart

She stands up for her beliefs

She's fearless

She doesn't judge you unless you should be

She taught me muggle stuff without expecting anything back0

Everyone likes her

My list is interrupted when Slughorn dismisses us for lunch. I quickly close my book and gather my stuff. As I'm leaving the class I see Granger staring at her potion with a confused and thoughtful expression on her face.

"Hey Granger, why do you look so confused?"

"Huh, what? Nothing! I wasn't thinking about you. Damn it, Hermione, why did you say that!" Then she runs off, out of the class, her cheeks a bright red.

Hmm, Granger sure was skittish, and she seemed embarrassed about something. After that, I make my way to the Head's common room to put my books down before going to the Great Hall for lunch. When I get to the common room, I make sure that my journal is sealed and that the charm I put on it that prevents anyone but me from seeing what's inside still works.

I leave to go to the Great Hall and bump into Hermione outside the portrait hole.

"Oh sorry!" she squeaks, and for the first time in my life I take a good look at her. I take in the way her curly hair frizzes after potions, the way her eyes have such a fluid and mesmerizing brown colour with huge pupils, the way she looks so cute when she's flustered. Dammit, I think Blaise may be on to something. No, that's just the power of suggestion, it's not real, it's just an illusion.

"Um Malfoy, why are you staring at me like that?" I snap out of my daze and blink.

"Sorry, it's just your hair's in your face. Uh, bye." And then I run away while blushing furiously, leaving a very confused Hermione standing at the portrait hole.

* * *

Author's Note: Sorry this is a short chapter. On a side note, if any of you are re-reading this, I changed Snape to Slughorn because I forgot that this is set after the Battle and accidentally used Snape at first. So, I have changed it to Slughorn as he is still alive. I couldn't update recently as it was just Thanksgiving in Canada and I spent the weekend with my family instead of curled up with my computer. Hopefully the next chapter will be longer. Please read and review, feedback and comments are most welcome. Have a great week!


	10. A Window Seat, Emails, & Definitions

Disclaimer: I don't own the Harry Potter franchise, nor anything affiliated with it.

* * *

Hermione's POV

I'm left standing at the Portrait hole, watching as Draco runs off, feeling very confused inside. Instead of eating in the Great Hall with my classmates, I had grabbed a sandwich and and wrapped it in a napkin so I could eat in my room. However I bumped into Malfoy and now I'm here.

I slowly walk into our dorm through the portrait hole and sit on the window seat in the common area. I finish my lunch and think about what I smelled in that potion. I knew the potion was Amortentia, but I didn't think too much about it. Then when Neville and I finished making it, I was overwhelmed by the smell of parchment, my mother's perfume, and to my surprise, Malfoy's hair. I was so shocked, I didn't say anything to anyone, but when Malfoy asked why I was confused I went completely defensive.

Then when I bumped into him outside the portrait, he just stared at me for a good minute or so. It was really weird, it was as if it was the first time he had really seen me as a real person. I wonder, does he like me? Am I just imagining things? Should I say something or just leave it? I think the potion is just addleing my brain. I'm in the middle of these thoughts when I feel my phone start buzzing. I pull it out of pocket and see that it's just an alarm saying that there is only 10 minutes left of lunch break. I gather my books for the afternoon, and leave for my next class.

* * *

I go down to the Great Hall for dinner and I eat some shepherd's pie and a selection of fruits. After eating quickly, I go upstairs to my dorm so that I can get a bit of my homework done before Malfoy comes up. I get to the portrait and go inside. I grab my laptop, earbuds, and my homework. I sit on the couch and play music from my laptop as I start on an essay for potions. I'm about halfway done when Malfoy walks in.

"Granger, I just need to grab my laptop and then we can start." He says, then he runs up the stairs to his room and comes down a few moments after.

"Alright, let's try to keep this as short as possible so we can get on to the rest of our homework. First let's set up the computer. Open the laptop and rest it on your knees. Yes, like that. Now you don't have proper laptop as they are very expensive, you have a chromebook which means you just use online stuff. The name of the program is called Chrome." I see that he looks a little confused, but I keep moving on anyway.

"Okay see the little thing in the corner that says 'add person'? Click that by dragging your finger on the silver bit in the middle of the bottom part of your laptop. That is called a trackpad, and will move the little triangular icon on screen. You will be asked for an email which we will set up first on my computer. I'll put your name in for you, what do you want your email to be? You have to choose the beginning and then it will end in 'at gmail. com '. For example, mine is hermione. granger 'at' gmail. com. You can make it as creative as you want."

"Um, how about draco. malfoy. sg 'at' gmail. com?" I wonder what the sg stands for or if it even has any meaning.

"Yeah sure. Next you need to pick a password. I'll let you do it yourself, as it prevents other people from accessing your account. Just click here and press the keys for each letter or number. If you want the little symbols above the numbers, hold the 'shift' button at the same time you press that key. Using numbers, letters, and symbols is best as it's harder for people to guess it. Then type the same password in the box underneath it." I look away as he does the password. When he's done he tells me and hands me back my laptop.

"Now, I need your birthday."

"June 5, 1980"

"Okay, and you are male, and we are in the United Kingdom. Done! Now type your email into the box on your computer."

"Alright, done."

"Now it should ask for your password. Just type it in."

"I've done that, now it's taken me to a page and it's asking if I want a tour. Should I click yes?"

"No, that's not necessary. I can show you how to change your profile picture and wallpaper another time. For now, hit the little circle icon with the blue circle in the middle and red, yellow, and green around it. That is the Chrome icon. The one beside it is for your email, then google documents, and YouTube. I'll explain those in a bit. You should have a screen that says Google and a long rectangle box under it. That is called the search bar. The other place you can use to search stuff is the really long one at the top of the page. That is the URL box. If you type a website address, it will take you directly to it. For example type: drive. google. com, then hit enter. You are now on Google Drive. You can create a writing document, make graphs and tables, and make an online presentation with images and words."

"Perhaps we should actually look up what these things on my list are before you get side-tracked again?"

"Oh right, sorry. What was the first thing on your list?"

"Airplane."

"Okay, for all these items, search 'what is the definition of a…?'. In this case it would be 'what is the definition of an airplane?'. Then it will show you a list of different links in blue colour. Click the link and it will take you to a website and you should be able to find a definition in there. Got it?"

"Yeah, thanks Granger, I can take it from here."

"Okay, in that case Malfoy, I'm going to go shower now as you'll be occupied down here for the next while."

I go upstairs and take a quick shower, before getting out and quickly tying my hair in a rough bun so it doesn't drip down my back while I'm doing homework. I go downstairs and see Malfoy is really engrossed in his work, but he's only written down 2 of the 20 definitions.

"Malfoy, are you having trouble with the definitions?" I ask him. I've been gone for at least 15, maybe 20 minutes so he should be almost done.

"No, I'm just learning so much about each thing. There's so much you can learn here! I've started using this website called Wikipedia, and it leads from one topic to another so easily! Unfortunately I don't know how to go back to the page I was previously on so I just keep going deeper into a topic."

"Oh right! I didn't tell you how to go back! Okay, do you see the little arrow pointing to the left in the top left corner? Clicking that will take you to where you just were. If you hit the one next to it pointing to the right, it will take you back to the one you were one before you went backwards. If you want to open something on a separate page, click it with both fingers on the trackpad, and a list will appear. Click the one called 'open link in new tab'. Make sure it's tab, not window. If you want to open a tab and search something new, see the small parallelogram next to the long trapezoid at the top of the screen? Hit that. The trapezoid is the name of the tab. If you click it, it will take you to the open tab."

"Okay Granger, I don't need anymore help."

"Okay then. I'll be over here on the other couch if you do need more help." I say. I don't quite think that he won't need help.

Malfoy doesn't ask for anymore help, and finishes the sheet after about an hour or so. I finish my essay and edit it before checking my email on my laptop, and then going upstairs to bed.

"Malfoy, I'm going to bed now, if you need anymore help, I'll have to show you tomorrow morning."

I go upstairs and brush my teeth before changing into my pyjamas and settling down and playing my music quietly. I fall asleep quickly, feeling content with how I helped Malfoy, and hoping it would always be like this.

* * *

Author's Note: Draco's birthday is actually correct. Check if you don't believe me. For the emails, I had to put extra spaces in between them and add 'at' in place of the usual icon as Fanfiction doesn't let me put URLs or emails in the story, sorry if it looks weird. Please read and review, feedback and comments are always welcome. Just know that hateful comments will be responded to with a lengthy and polite reply. Thanks, and see you next time!


	11. Planning, a Letter, & Dinner

Disclaimer: I do not own the Harry Potter franchise, nor anything affiliated with it.

* * *

Draco's POV

A couple weeks have gone by since Granger showed me how to use the computer and I've had a lot of fun learning about muggle technology. I haven't told Blaise how much I love it or Granger, but I can tell she knows how much I enjoy it, most people haven't picked up on it. I've done very well on the tests we've gotten and it actually my best subject so far, it feels so weird.

So far, we've all gotten earbuds and phones, and we just finished our unit on communication. I can now call, email, and text pretty well, though I prefer email as it is more formal. We will be starting a unit on entertainment soon and the muggleborns have each selected a film or series to watch during class to help catch us up with pop-culture. After we finish movies and television, we will explore music, which I can't wait to do. I've wanted to explore that since Granger first let me listen to Let Her Go by Passenger on the the train ride here.

Granger and I have talked a little bit more, and we don't seem to hate each other as much. After giving it a lot of thought, I decided that just because I smelled Granger in the potion, doesn't mean we should be 'love birds'. Instead I've been nicer and I'll see how it goes from there. The relationship is less tense, and seeing as how she doesn't have many friends in her year, she'll sit with me and Blaise. Blaise isn't too 'Slytherin' as she says, so she doesn't mind him that much.

Granger and I are walking back from class to drop our books off in our room before going to the Great Hall for dinner when we see McGonagall waiting for us at the portrait.

"Miss Granger, Mr. Malfoy, I'm sure you know we are already a week into October. I will need you two to plan the Halloween ball. You will be in charge of invitations and announcements, decorations and dining equipment, seating placement, theme, entertainment, setting up with the help of the prefects, and food. Essentially, everything. I'll need a rough plan with basic information by next week today. A final plan should be given to me no later than 5 days before the 31st. That will be all for that. How have you two been? I've noticed you've been getting along a bit more than you thought you would. If it's just acting, you are doing a marvellous job."

Granger speaks up first, "We've been doing great Headmistress. How have you been?"

"I've been well, thank you Ms. Granger. Well, seeing as how that's settled, I have to go for a staff meeting. This is a written list of all the requirements in case you can't remember all of them. Good evening to you." With that, she leaves me and Granger waiting to go inside.

I go first as Granger seems deep in thought. I open the portrait with the password that we still haven't changed, no matter how many times I've tried remind myself to talk to Granger about it. We get in and I ask Granger what we should do next.

"Well, we should probably get dinner from the Hall and bring it up here to eat. That way we can start to plan this now."

"Okay. Should we use create a google doc for this?" I really like using google drive as it saves the information by itself and multiple people can edit the same document at the same time.

"Yeah, how about I set up the document and a spreadsheet, while you go grab us some food. I'll take whatever you're having."

"Sure, I should be up in about 10 or 15 minutes." Then I leave to get the food. For dinner today, it's pasta bake with tuna and salad. I grab a moderately sized portion for both of us and piece of black forest cake each. I walk upstairs and bump into Blaise.

"Ooh, you going for a date with Granger?" He says when he notices the plates in my hand while wiggling his eyebrows in a teasing way.

"No, Blaise, I'm not." I say, slightly exasperated with him. "McGonagall asked us to start preparing for the Halloween ball, and seeing as how we don't have a lot of homework right now, we decided to start working on it."

"Sure sure Draco, one of these days I'll be right. Just remember that I'm sacrificing my meal buddies for you two."

"Goodbye Zabini."

I carry on up to our our room and say the password. I walk in and put the food on the counter. Granger is sitting on the couch too engrossed in a piece of paper that she's holding to realize that I've come in. She's staring at it with slight anger and seems kind of tense.

"Granger... helloooo. Aren't you gonna come over and eat?" When she doesn't look up I ask her about the paper. "What are you looking at?"

"Oh. Well Harry finally sent me a letter asking how I was, and that Ron is still being a selfish prat…"

"A selfish prat? I thought that name was reserved for me." I say with a smile.

"No, don't get me started on Ron, he's been acting like a complete idiot since the war ended. He thinks he's so high and mighty, and that all purebloods should be sent to Azkaban. Basically he's turned into you, but with intolerance for purebloods instead of muggles and muggleborns. I can't stand it. You don't fight discrimination with more discrimination, you fight it with equality." She sounds very frustrated, so I go over and pull her to the food.

"Come on, you need to eat." I say. "I can't stand to hear you compare me to Weaselbee. I'd rather be compared to Scar-Head."

"Sorry. He's just really bugging me right now. He still thinks he'll be able to fudge over our last 'meeting' and be my friend. I swear I'll hex him the next time I see him." I resist the urge to ask what happened at their last meeting. Instead I focus on her last remark.

"Great, I hope I get to see it. Now eat your food before it goes cold so we can start to work on planning this ball." She then starts eating and we have our meal in silence. I finish my food before her, so I go up to my room and get my laptop before coming back down again.

"So let's start with basics what's the theme going to be?" I ask her when I come down.

"Um, how about autumn vs. costumes? Many of the younger kids and some older kids like dressing up in costumes, while some of the older girls especially, might want to wear a proper dress. We can have a competition to see which category has the most people dressing in it."

"Yeah, that's a great idea. What about time? I think that we shouldn't make it too late as we'll have school the day after. Do you think 7-12 would be good?"

"I think that works, but we should end classes about an hour earlier then. Just take off 15 minutes from each class." I'm glad Granger thought of that; it would help a lot, and it wouldn't interfere too much with our schedule.

"Okay, should we go with a set menu or buffet style?"

"Buffet style, but we should talk with the house elves about it. I know some of them, I could get them to create sample dishes so we can taste them and see if they'll work." Of course she knows some of them, I'm surprised that they actually like her. Most of the house elves I know would be extremely offended if you offered to free them.

"For the ball itself, what kind of decor do you think we should have?"

"I was thinking that we should have a colour scheme of Registration Black, Zinnwaldite Brown, Safety Orange (Blaze Orange), Chocolate (Traditional), and Ginger." I raise my eyebrows at her very specific colour choices. "Here I just searched this site called 'Coolors' that generates colour schemes." She turns the screen of her laptop to face me and I take a look at the colour myself.

"Wow, they work really well with each other. I think that we should have the tablecloths, napkins, plates, centerpieces, fabric hangings, and chairs in this colour scheme. That way it looks relatively uniform. If you could send that to me, I know a couple purebloods who owe me favours that could get us those supplies at a discount in the specified colours." I say.

"Thanks Malfoy, that could save us a lot of money. Now we still need to sort out posters or invitations, and announcements. We need to get the word out soon. A lot of the students will want time to get costumes, or formal wear." I nod at her and jot down the information.

"I think we should call it quits for tonight, we have a rough guideline and some ideas. Let's set aside about 2 hours every Saturday and 1 hour every Wednesday night to work on this from now till then. That way we can still do homework, and get this done."

"Sure, I'll just put a reminder in my phone then." She replies. She then gets up from the counter in our kitchenette and starts to put whatever papers she scribbled on into a folder. "I'll type this up tonight okay? It should be done in a few hours."

"Okay, I'm gonna go and take the dishes down to the kitchens now. You should probably reply to Potter now."

"Oh right! I better do that soon before he worries that you've killed me quietly in the last two months."

"Right, because no one would have figured it out and notified your best friends about it." I say while smirking at her.

"Ha ha ha, Harry and… Ron," she spits "are so paranoid. They think I can't deal with anything. It's extremely annoying since I've saved them more times than I can count." Yes, I know she has. Even while we were still at Hogwarts, half of their schemes would never have worked without her.

"Anyway, I have to go drop off these dishes before the house elves send a search party for them." I say.

"Oh yeah, well I'll see you soon then."

"Bye." I say before gathering the dishes. Then I leave towards the kitchens.

* * *

Author's Note: The website mentioned is real, and the exact colour numbers following the previously stated sequence are #010001, #2B0504, #FF6E00, #874000, and #BC5F04 in case anyone wanted to see what they actually look like. Please read and review, thanks for sticking with this fic. Till next time and have a nice week.


	12. Hogsmeade, Watches, & a Movie

Disclaimer: I do not own the Harry Potter franchise, nor anything else affiliated with it. I also do not own any songs used in this fic, all rights to those songs belong to the artists, go support their work on Youtube, Spotify, or other music platforms.

* * *

Hermione's POV

It's about 1 week till the Halloween ball, and Malfoy and I have kind of become friends. Muggle studies has been a lot of fun. I must say that the teachers really did a good job on making it mandatory. The tension between the different house and 'blood types' has lessened a lot. Then there are our meetings to plan the ball. We've learned a lot about each other, and true to McGonagall's word, we do share a lot of interests.

He actually really enjoys reading. It's funny, we make a lot of recommendations to each other now. He's also taken a liking to YouTube. He spent hours exploring different popular artists as part of Muggle Studies, and now has an ever growing playlist of music. We have a similar taste in music, and so we've shared our playlists with each other. One song I've found that I really like is Everything Has Changed by Taylor Swift Ft. Ed Sheeran. I find that it is slowly describing the relationship between myself and Malfoy more and more each day. I'm sitting doing my homework when the song comes on.

 _All I knew this morning when I woke  
_ _Is I know something now, know something now I didn't before  
_ _And all I've seen since eighteen hours ago is green eyes and freckles  
_ _And your smile in the back of my mind making me feel like_

 _I just want to know you better, know you better, know you better now  
_ _I just want to know you better, know you better, know you better now  
_ _I just want to know you better, know you better, know you better now  
_ _I just want to know you, know you, know you_

A couple days after our first 'meeting' about the ball, we finished the first draft of the plan and handed it in to McGonagall. She seemed very pleased it and thought our theme idea was a good idea.

"Some friendly competition is very good, especially since it's not connected to any of the houses in particular."

What she said is very true. The main issue with the competition in Hogwarts, is that it's so house based. It feels like war as supposed to friendly competition. Especially since there are a lot of stereotypes associated with each house, we are constantly belittling the others and trying to destroy everyone who isn't in our house.

I could tell that Draco agreed on this too based on the slight nod of his head. I'd noticed that Draco actually has a lot of meaning hidden behind his mannerisms. Little things like the way he tilts his head when someone he knows or respects walks past him. Many people don't notice him do it, but it's still there. There's the way he addresses people in certain ways; he calls most people by their last names, he calls Blaise by his first name except when he's annoyed with him, and he calls me Granger like always, but there is something else behind it. When he says my name now, it doesn't come out with undertones of hate, and it feels wonderful.

 _'Cause all I know is we said hello  
_ _And your eyes look like coming home  
_ _All I know is a simple name, everything has changed  
_ _All I know is you held the door  
_ _You'll be mine and I'll be yours  
_ _All I know since yesterday is everything has changed_

 _And all my walls stood tall painted blue  
_ _But I'll take 'em down, take 'em down and open up the door for you  
_ _And all I feel in my stomach is butterflies the beautiful kind  
_ _Making up for lost time, taking flight, making me feel like_

Just last week, we had our first Hogsmeade trip. I went with Draco and Blaise in the morning, and then met up with Ginny in the afternoon. Draco, Blaise, and I went to the new tech shop in Hogsmeade, so that I could help them look for their own phones and other bits and bobs.

While we got their phones, I made sure they got their own earbuds as Draco had been borrowing my spare pair for the last while. I also got them USB each to store copies of their files, and fitness tracking watches. Blaise had been very interested in the watches, as a group of enterprising wizards had managed to make one that could track the distance flown and as well as the energy used on a broomstick.

We had lunch in the Three Broomsticks and then I left them to go browse a bit more while I left to go dress shopping with Ginny.

 _I just want to know you better, know you better, know you better now  
_ _I just want to know you better, know you better, know you better now  
_ _I just want to know you better, know you better, know you better now  
_ _I just want to know you, know you, know you_

 _'Cause all I know is we said hello  
_ _And your eyes look like coming home  
_ _All I know is a simple name, everything has changed  
_ _All I know is you held the door  
_ _You'll be mine and I'll be yours  
_ _All I know since yesterday is everything has changed_

The night of the Hogsmeade trip, Draco, Blaise, and I went to the Head's dorm to watch a movie together. We picked an action film called The Avengers. Draco and Blaise were so impressed with the special effects and the superheroes. Draco in particular liked Loki and Black Widow. When I asked him why, he said it was because they reminded him so much of himself.

 _Come back and tell me why  
_ _I'm feeling like I've missed you all this time  
_ _And meet me there tonight  
_ _And let me know that it's not all in my mind  
_

 _I just want to know you better, know you better, know you better now  
_ _I just want to know you, know you, know you  
_

I found it so sad at first, but then I realized that those characters are so much stronger because of their mistakes, not so much Loki, but Black Widow changed and turned all the way around. I knew at that moment that Draco had changed, and is continuing to change into someone wonderful.

 _All I know is we said hello  
_ _Your eyes look like coming home  
_ _All I know is a simple name, everything has changed  
_ _All I know is he held the door  
_ _You'll be mine and I'll be yours  
_ _All I know since yesterday is everything has changed_

 __ _All I know is we said hello  
_ _So dust off your highest hopes  
_ _All I know is pouring rain  
_ _And everything has changed_

 _All I know is a new found grace  
_ _All my days, I'll know your face  
_ _All I know since yesterday is everything has changed_

"Granger, it's getting late. You should probably go to bed soon. Remember we have to do the meeting with the rest of the prefects tomorrow morning, and I expect you to be awake to present your bit. No slacking off." Malfoy had just come down the stairs in his pyjamas, and I look at the clock on my computer to see it's almost 12:30.

"Noted Malfoy, I'll go to bed soon. I just need to finish the last paragraph of my essay."

"Fine, but I'm not waking you up tomorrow. Goodnight." He calls. With that he walks back upstairs.

"Goodnight Ferret." I call out teasingly. I swear I can hear a grunt of annoyance come from the stairs, but maybe I just imagined it.

I finish my essay, pack up my stuff, and head to my room. I put my homework into my folder, and get changed for bed.

I feel so happy, calm, and tired, I don't even have to put on a playlist. I just lie down and drift off to sleep.

* * *

Author's Note: This chapter is a little more of a "flashback" chapter, but oh well. Thanks for all of your support. I've hit a total of 1,000 views on this yay! Please read and review. Have a great week, till next time.


	13. A Meeting, New Friends, & First Names

Disclaimer: I do not own the Harry Potter franchise, nor anything affiliated with it

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Draco's POV

I'm sitting in the Room of Requirement with Granger, and about 15 of the prefects are here already. There should be 26 total as there are 2 per house per year starting with 5th, except for the eighth years who just have two total. We decided to do the meeting here as the Room can conjure samples of the decorations that we will be using, and space won't be an issue. After waiting an additional 20 minutes, everyone arrives and we start. I start with the basics first.

"Alright, so as prefects, you will be responsible for the set-up and cleanup of the ball. It won't be too complicated so don't worry about whether or not you'll have enough time to get ready."

"Malfoy's right. We are getting the decorations and equipment custom made, so we just need to stick them up with spells. It shouldn't be too hard to do."

"Now the point of this meeting is just to finalize stuff with you and make sure everyone knows what's going on and what you need to do. The theme is Costumes vs. Formal Attire. The group that wins, that theme will be used the next year. The colour scheme is this." I pull out a strip of fabric with all the colours Granger and I discussed. "The food will be done buffet style, and mostly finger food. We've gotten the Weird Sisters to play music for the first half and the end, but in the middle we will be doing a karaoke thing for anyone is interested. The top 5 performers or groups will win 20 points each for their houses." I say with a bit of a smile. I thought of that prize after Hermione and I had spent almost a week trying to find a good prize that most people would be interested in.

"Yes, we decided that most people don't like to go up and perform, but a lot of students are highly competitive about points, so more people will try to go up. Now I'll talk about delegation of tasks. Since there are a total of 28 of us, I'm putting all 5th and 6th years on setting tables. It's very tedious, but important. 7th and 8th years, as well as Malfoy and I will be doing the actual hall decorations. We will meet just after lunch to set up. We should finish about 4 hours before the ball starts. The ball is from 7-12 in the evening, and seeing as how there are classes the day after, we will have an hour late school start. Classes will each be 15 minutes shorter." Hermione finishes. It will always amaze me that women require 4 hours or more to get ready for a simple dance. After Hermione finishes with her part, I conclude the meeting.

"I think that's it. Are there any questions?" No one speaks up or raises their hands. "Alright then, you're dismissed."

Once we finish the meeting, Granger and I head back to our dorm to finish some last-minute preparations. We sit at the counter and write letters to our suppliers to make sure that our orders will come on time. After double checking that everything is set up, we head down to the Great Hall for dinner. We've now started sitting together with Blaise and sometimes Neville. Since Hermione has started becoming friends with me, Neville and Ginny have been more accepting of us. We sit and talk about the crazy shenanigans we got up to in our first few years here, and how Granger punched me in the nose in third year. We all laugh at that, Blaise thought it was really funny at the time. Granger apologizes about it, and I tell her it's okay.

"Look Granger, I completely deserved it. I remember being so embarrassed about it though. I didn't even go to Madam Pomfrey to get it checked out as I was too ashamed to admit that I got punched by a 'Mudblood' Gryffindor know-it-all."

"That was stupid Malfoy, you officially win at being a complete moron." She says. She finds it extremely funny and I can see her trying not to laugh for the whole school to hear.

"Yes well, I found that to be a turning point in how I looked at you. I still treated you like garbage, but I was doing that to keep up appearances, and because I refused to believe that a muggle born girl could be so much better than me at everything. I also tried to tone down how much I antagonized you because I really did not want to provoke another hit to the face. It became my life goal to be better than you at everything. Haven't reached it yet, and probably never will." I say.

"That much is obvious to everyone, including me." Says Neville. I laugh at his comment and agree with him. Neville isn't exactly the sharpest knife on the chopping block.

I find it amazing that I can talk to Hermione and other people who aren't in Slytherin with such ease. For the first time, I have friends. Real friends. Not just one friend, but two; Granger and Blaise. Neville isn't quite my friend but he's more than just an acquaintance.

We finish up with dinner, and Neville and Blaise leave to their dorms. Granger and I leave together to our dorm. We head inside and both set up for homework. I pull out my laptop and turn on some music. It feels really nice to have my own earbuds, and I'm glad Granger helped get some new tech on our last trip to Hogsmeade. I go to YouTube, and put on Granger's playlist. It's strange, I feel happy just knowing that this is what she uses and that she picked the music for it. You can tell a lot about a person based on their music choices. I know that Granger really likes to pick songs based on lyrics, and listening to the music makes me feel close to her thoughts, like I can understand her better with it. One thing I've noticed is that she has a lot sad music on it. I guess she must have some really sad memories. I wonder if Weasel has anything to do with it.

Once I've started the playlist, I pull up my e-mail to check if Professor Carrington has posted any homework for us on our online classroom. I see that she's put up an end of unit project to choose one song and one movie/tv show to write an essay on each. We are supposed to explain why we like it, and how we might identify with. The essays will be completely confidential, and she will not share anything in them with anyone else. The project is due in about 3 weeks to allow time to explore more media and really get in depth. I create a doc to come up with a list of music and movies that I might want to use for this project. Most of the songs are from my playlist and by extension, Granger's. After finishing that, I move on to my potions, and transfiguration assignments.

It's almost 11pm when I stop. I turn to Granger and tell her that it's getting late.

"I'm almost done Malfoy."

"I know, that's what you say every time. Yet you still bang away on the keyboard for an additional 20 minutes after I tell you without fail."

"Fine I'll stop, but if I fail these assignments, it's on your head."

"By all means Granger, if it means you get some sleep." As I say this, she looks at me weirdly. "What is it Granger? Did I say something funny?"

"No, I've just been thinking, maybe we should switch to a first name basis. I think that we've become too friendly to keep acting like we're enemies. I mean our actions don't say it, so why should we speak like it?"

"That's a great idea Gr… I mean Hermione. Wow that felt weird."

"It also sounded weird to hear you say my first name, but it shouldn't be like that. If we use them often enough it'll become natural... Draco."

"Well this another thing to add to our growing list of friendship developments." Maybe it'll someday lead to relationship developments. However, I just leave it for now. Careful not to push it too far. I'm glad Hermione suggested using first names. It feels nicer in a way, though our classmates may look at us a little weirdly if they hear us talking like this.

"Goodnight Draco." Hermione says as she gathers her stuff and we walk up the stairs to our rooms.

"Goodnight Hermione." I say as she enters her room, and she looks back to smile before closing her door.

I enter my room and feel so peaceful. I don't have any trouble falling asleep tonight, and I let my dreams consume me.

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Author's Note: Please read and review. I truly appreciate your support, it makes doing this instead of homework totally worth it. Thanks for reading, have a great week. Till next time.


	14. A Necklace, A Charm, & 3 Letters

Disclaimer: I don't own the Harry Potter franchise, nor anything affiliated with it.

* * *

Hermione's POV

I'm in the Great Hall eating my breakfast with Blaise, Draco, and Neville when I get a letter from Harry.

 _Dear Hermione,_

 _I know it's been awhile since my last letter, sorry it's taken so long. Ron and I have been really busy with Auror training. I heard from Ginny that you, Blaise, Neville, and Draco are hanging out a lot now. Be careful around the Slytherins, I don't entirely trust them. I do however, trust your judgement so I won't be coming over there with wands blazing ready to hex them into oblivion. Just know that if you do happen to need me though, I'll be ready. Now, I haven't told Ron about this yet, and you can guess why. He still hasn't even bothered trying to change his mindset. It's getting really irritating listening to his poisonous words about the purebloods, and how they're all Death Eaters. It's a little stupid because his own family is pureblood as well but as he says, "we're different though, we're blood traitors so we don't really count."_

 _Anyway, I've sent you this letter because I've requested some vacation time for next weekend to coincide with your trip to Hogsmeade. I'd like to meet up with you, Ginny, and all your friends. I haven't told Ron, and hopefully he doesn't find out. As much as he's my friend, he's not ready for a meeting like this yet. Well I have to go study for my next set of Auror practical exams now, so see you then! Have a great time during the Halloween ball, I'm sure your planning will go smoothly._

 _Till next weekend,_

 _Harry_

I put down the letter and make a mental note to reply before lunch. All the students have the morning off to get ready for the ball, but I'll be spending it doing last minute counts of everything before we actually set up after lunch. I personally don't see why we need that much time, but some people like to get their hair done, and get makeovers.

I finish my meal and signal for Draco to hurry up so we can go over details one more time. We leave the Great Hall and make our way to the portrait. We get inside and I grab my folders with all the table plans, food plans, rough performance and karaoke schedule, and decoration plans. I come down and see Draco at the counter waiting with a small dark blue box.

"Draco, what's that?" I say pointing to the box while feeling a bit nervous. Why I don't know, but it's just a gut reaction to the situation I guess.

He laughs at my question and responds, "Hermione, I know this is really late and all, but do you want to go to the dance with me?"

"Oh Draco, that's so sweet! I'd love to." I say with a smile.

"I got you a gift for the dance. You can also consider it a really late birthday present." At that he pulls out a thin silver necklace with a blue spherical pendant that glowed in the relatively dim light of our kitchenette.

"Oh my gosh! Where did you get this? This is so pretty." I say.

"May I put it on for you?" He asks.

I say yes and turn around for him to clasp it around my neck. He lifts my hair up gently and puts it over my right shoulder. Then he pulls it around my neck and clasps it. I turn around to look at him and give him a huge tight hug.

"Thank you so much. How did you know when my birthday was?"

"I remember hearing Ginny talking about it with Neville a couple weeks back. She said she was so upset that neither Harry nor Ron sent you anything for it. To answer your earlier question on how I got it, I was exploring some muggle shopping websites and found this on a site called Etsy. I didn't give it to you before as it took a couple weeks to arrive, and I had to have it delivered to the Manor, and then get my mother to send it over to me by owl."

"Wow, thanks again." I pause. "Well um, we should probably do a quick review of the plans for the ball."

"Right. What's the rough number of students who are confirmed to attend?" he asks me.

"About 280. Let's leave enough room for an additional 20 people. That takes us up to 300 people. The tables should have about 12 seats, so we need about 25 tables. Then we also need the food tables, the stage for the Weird Sisters and the karaoke, and we have to make sure we have enough space on the dance floor."

"Well, we can always expand the hall with an undetectable extension charm. We just have to ask McGonagall for permission. It'll give us the extra space we need."

"That's a great idea, I can't believe I didn't think of that. I'll send an Owl to her as soon as possible. I think that's all we need to review. You can go do whatever you want till lunch. I have to take care of some letters."

"Alright, if you need any help with anything I'll be in my room." Then he walked up the stairs to do whatever it was that he was going to do.

I gather the papers and go to my room. I put the folder in my filing cabinet that I had transfigured from a briefcase. I pull out my stack of parchment and a black pen.

Dear Headmistress McGonagall,

Draco and I have realized that the hall isn't quite big enough to hold everyone and everything needed. We were wondering if we could have your permission to use an undetectable extension charm on the hall so that there will be more space. Please respond at your earliest convenience.

Sincerely, Hermione Granger

I finish the letter, seal in an envelope, and set it aside to take to the owlery later with my letters to Harry and Ron. I pull out another piece of parchment and start my second letter.

 _Dear Harry,_

 _I'm sorry I didn't respond to your first letter. I just got so upset about Ron being such a git, and then I got too distracted with all the preparation for the ball._

 _To answer your question, I am making friends with Blaise and Draco. I know they are Slytherins, but I've found that they are actually a lot of fun and quite nice. I know it seems so sudden of a change, but McGonagall and the teachers implemented a new policy to bring the houses together. I think it's actually worked really well. Muggle studies is now mandatory, and muggle borns basically tutor purebloods. We each have a partner for the semester and my partner is Draco. I've learnt a lot about him, and he's learnt a lot about me. It turns out he finds the muggle world as fascinating as you and I find the wizarding world. Blaise, Draco, Neville, Luna, sometimes Ginny, Draco, and I have been hanging out together. We've done movie nights in the head's common room, and gone to Hogsmeade together. It's been a lot of fun but I have missed you, and even Ron a little bit, here. I wish we could have all come back together._

 _Meeting up next weekend is a great idea, and yes, bringing Ron the first time may not be the best idea. Maybe if he calms down with his raving we can consider it. I'll be sending a letter to him as well and see if I can change his mind. It's really sad actually, that he's like this. He's missing out on so much of life. Well, I have to finish this quickly so I can get back to prepping for the ball. I miss you so much, see you next week._

 _Sincerely, Hermione_

Sealing my letter the same way I did McGonagall's, I set it aside. Now for the more challenging letter. I take a deep breath and pour a bit of my heart into it.

 _Dear Ron,_

 _I know it's been awhile since we last spoke. Despite what I've said, I do hope you're okay. I wanted to let you know that I'm still your friend, but that your biases really upset me._

 _Pure Bloods, half-bloods, muggles, we're all human and I hope you know that. Your current mindset really upsets me because it's exactly the same as how the Death Eaters used to think. You've just flipped the tables on them. I really hope you realize how you messed up, and I hope that one day I'll get an apology. I'll wait for it, because I miss being your friend._

 _Sincerely, Hermione_

I feel like there's no other way for him to understand. I don't know how he can think like that. I guess he'll change when he wants to.

I finish all the letters and gather them together. I exit my room and walk to the owlery to send the letters off. I send them on their way, and head back down. It's about 20 minutes till lunch, and then we have to prepare for the ball. I walk to the Great Hall early, and wait till more people arrive. I finish my food quickly and so does Draco. We walk back to our room and gather the decorations and other equipment we need. McGonagall approved of the use of the extension charm so we go down to the Great Hall again as people are leaving. We put down the materials and wait for the prefects to arrive.

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Author's Note: The necklace does exist as do many other cool jewelry and bookmark pieces from the same artist. You can fin her work on Etsy, under the account of Pappillon9. Her work is really cool, but a little pricey. There are also a lot of other artists there who have great work so check them out as well. Anyway, sorry I haven't updated in a few days. I had a few time issues. The next chapter should be up tomorrow. Please read and review, and thank you to those who have, your continuous support means a lot to me. Have a great week, till next time!


	15. Set up, Sunset, & a Song

Disclaimer: I don't own anything in the Harry Potter franchise, nor anything else affiliated with it. I also do not own any songs used in this fic, all rights to those songs belong to the artists, go support their work on Youtube, Spotify, or other music platforms.

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Draco's POV

When the prefects arrive, we review their tasks with them and perform the extension charm together. Then we give them the bags of napkins, plates, cutlery, glasses, centerpieces, tablecloths, and the floorplan. Hermione and I get to work on hanging the fabric drapes on the wall in place of the house banners. We stick them on with sticking charms, and fold the banners neatly and put it in a crate.

Then we get to work setting up the stage with all the decorations, and make sure to leave enough space for them to play. We also charm a small glass ball to change different colours and attach it to the ceiling for later. Once we are done with our jobs, we help set the tables and make sure everything is in order.

We all finish after about 2 hours and we make sure that we collect all the bags ready to pack up everything tonight once the ball ends. After this we dismiss the prefects at about 2:30 with plenty of time to get ready for the 7pm ball. Hermione and I walk back up to our rooms to relax for a bit, with the plan to later shower and then get changed.

We both relax on the couch, her with a very large book, and me with my journal and sudoku puzzle book. I haven't updated my journal in a while so I take some time to do that.

 _October 31st, 2017_

 _It's been awhile since I've written about my days in here but I've finally managed to catch a break. It's the day of the Halloween ball. Hermione and I have been planning it for the last few weeks as Heads. She chose a wonderful colour scheme, and I think we've done a good job on the hall. It's been nice these past few weeks. I've spent a lot of time with Granger and learning about the muggle world. I haven't spent a lot of time on our essay, but hopefully I'll be able to work on that a bit more after today._

 _Over the past while, since we made Amortentia in class, I've realized that I really like Granger. I gave her the necklace I bought her today and she really liked it. She's seems more beautiful every day, from her hair to her eyes. It feels so weird to hide all these feelings inside me. It's almost like when I used to hide my emotions and thoughts from Voldemort. She's so kind to me and I feel like I don't deserve it, but I also wish I could love her freely. Being her friend is great, but I wish I could tell her that I love her._

 _I better stop writing this, as I must look really weird looking at my journal in such a sad way, before Hermione notices. I do not want to have to explain this to her and I don't really have any good excuses handy. Great, now I'm smirking. Anyway, till next time my paper friend._

I put my journal down and focus on a couple Sudoku puzzles instead now. I find that they are very calming and help clear my mind. When I've completed about 6 of them, I turn to look at my watch. The time reads 4:30, so I decide to use the bathroom and take a shower before Hermione does. I take a quick shower and then make sure I have everything ready to change into later, before putting on a set of casual clothes for now. I pull out my guitar and practise for a little bit. I look up the chords for Everything Has Changed, Hermione's favourite song, and play it after casting a _muffliato_.

After going through it a couple times, I decide to work a little bit on some small muggle studies assignments before getting changed into my suit.

Once I'm dressed, I make my way downstairs to the common room and sit on the window seat in the common room. I'm looking at the sunset and I watch it go all the way down past the mountains, as it casts a fiery colour on the lake. It's a wonderful view, and while I watch it, time passes in a slow, yet fluid way. When I finally snap out of my reverie, it's almost 6:45. I go to my room and straighten out my suit, making sure my shirt is tucked in and my tie is center. I then make sure I have everything I might need, placed neatly in my pockets. I walk down the stairs and sit waiting for Hermione to come down. I haven't sat down for 5 minutes yet, when she walks down the stairs.

She's wearing a dark blue floor-length dress with a sheer layer on top, and a seemingly smooth and flowy skirt underneath and straps about an inch thick. Her hair has been loosely tied in a bun like at the Yule ball in fourth year. Her makeup is fairly simple with some light lip gloss, and a dusting of silver eyeshadow. It's funny, being a Malfoy I've grown up with all of this, the makeup and fashion, around me so I know as much about it as most girls my age. Of course, to top it all off, the necklace I gave her is the perfect colour to go with her dress. I actually took a slight peek at it when she bought the dress as I offered to carry it, so I got a glimpse of the colour and chose the necklace with that in mind. I'm happy to know I was right. She looks absolutely stunning, and I get up to walk over to her.

"Do I look okay?" she asks me a little nervous.

"Okay? You're breathtaking right now." I say before adding "Not bad for a muggleborn." as a small joke. She smiles a bit at this and I smile back. She can tell I mean it in a nice way, unlike how I used to call her mudblood.

"And you look simply dashing Draco." She says in an imitation of a posh accent. "Come on, we better hurry otherwise we'll be late for the ball we organized."

"To be fair, I was waiting on you." I say.

"That's true, but you were the one who spent a good few minutes just staring at me when I came down."

"Wait really?" I knew I was staring, but I didn't think it was that long. Great, now she's going to think I'm really creepy.

"No silly, I would have yelled at you if you had." She replies with a bit of a smirk. I just glare back in response.

With that we walk down to the Great hall and step in. The candles have been dimmed, and the whole place looks wonderful. We find an empty table to sit at and wait for everyone else to arrive. Eventually Ginny, Blaise, Neville, Luna, the Patil twins, Hermione, and I are sitting together, and McGonagall stands to make the announcement that the ball has started.

"Excuse me students, when I'm done with my short speech here, we will be getting food based on table number. There should be a number on the centerpiece to indicate it. When it's you table's turn to go, it will glow with a golden hue. Now moving on, I would like to thank Mr. Malfoy, and Ms. Granger for organizing this ball setting it up for you guys, as well as the prefects for helping to set up also." Everyone gave a round of applause, and there were a few shouts of 'thank you'. "Secondly, I would like to thank the Weird Sisters for coming. Third, in between the two Weird Sisters performances, we will be doing a karaoke session. Each student that participates will earn 20 points for their house, so I advise you to try it. That's about it, oh! A reminder that tomorrow classes will start an hour later, and each period will therefore be 15 minutes shorter. That is all I have to say, so let the ball begin!"

The Weird Sisters begin to play some quieter songs while the tables are being sent up to get food and drinks. Our table is called up 5th, and soon after we finish eating we are dancing in the middle of the room. We just do a lot of silly dancing, and on the slower songs, do a little bit of 'waltz' style dance. Soon enough the Weird Sisters stop playing, signaling that the karaoke session is starting. No one seems to want to go first and it gets a little awkward. I turn to Hermione and ask her what to do.

"Hermione, no one's going up, what should we do?"

"I don't know, I just assumed someone would take the initiative and go first."

"Well, we could start together. That way we'll start it off, and people will feel less weird about it. It's getting a little quiet right now."

"Great idea Draco, but what song should we do?"

"I was thinking Everything has Changed? You know, you're favourite song? I even brought a guitar with me, so we don't need to play the song track."

"Wow, I didn't know you played guitar." She seems a little surprised at first but continues. "Okay, yes, let's go do it."

We then walk up to the stage, and each take a mic. I sling the guitar on my shoulder after unshrinking it and with a look at her, I begin playing.

 _All I knew this morning when I woke_  
 _Is I know something now, know something now I didn't before_  
 _And all I've seen since eighteen hours ago is green eyes and freckles_  
 _And your smile in the back of my mind making me feel like_

 _I just want to know you better, know you better, know you better now_  
 _I just want to know you better, know you better, know you better now_  
 _I just want to know you better, know you better, know you better now_  
 _I just want to know you, know you, know you_

She starts to sing a little nervously at first, but very soon she's really getting into it. She smiles and starts to close her eyes as she sings it.

 _'Cause all I know is we said hello_  
 _And your eyes look like coming home_  
 _All I know is a simple name, everything has changed_  
 _All I know is you held the door_  
 _You'll be mine and I'll be yours_  
 _All I know since yesterday is everything has changed_

I join in for the harmony in the chorus, and it feels so natural and right. I was worried that I wouldn't remember how to sing it or that I'd be out of tune and hit the wrong notes, but that doesn't seem to be a problem. I'm just going on instinct right now.

 _And all my walls stood tall painted blue_  
 _But I'll take 'em down, take 'em down and open up the door for you_  
 _And all I feel in my stomach is butterflies the beautiful kind_  
 _Making up for lost time, taking flight, making me feel like_

I feel like I know the song so well, since I've heard it so many times, but this is kind of different. There's a different meaning behind it now. I can actually feel it, I've applied my own story to it now.

 _I just want to know you better, know you better, know you better now_  
 _I just want to know you better, know you better, know you better now_  
 _I just want to know you better, know you better, know you better now_  
 _I just want to know you, know you, know you_

 _'Cause all I know is we said hello_  
 _And your eyes look like coming home_  
 _All I know is a simple name, everything has changed_  
 _All I know is you held the door_  
 _You'll be mine and I'll be yours_  
 _All I know since yesterday is everything has changed_

 _Come back and tell me why_  
 _I'm feeling like I've missed you all this time_  
 _And meet me there tonight_  
 _And let me know that it's not all in my mind_

We sing together and smile at each other as we do so. I soon forget that we're in front of a crowd, and that we're at a ball.

 _I just want to know you better, know you better, know you better now_  
 _I just want to know you, know you, know you_

 _All I know is we said hello_  
 _Your eyes look like coming home_  
 _All I know is a simple name, everything has changed_  
 _All I know is he held the door_  
 _You'll be mine and I'll be yours_  
 _All I know since yesterday is everything has changed_

I look at her for what must be the millionth time tonight, and think again about how beautiful she is right now. How I'm so lucky to have her as a friend, how I'm so lucky we were partnered for so many things together. That I was able to get to know her.

 _All I know is we said hello_  
 _So dust off your highest hopes_  
 _All I know is pouring rain_  
 _And everything has changed_  
 _All I know is a new found grace_  
 _All my days, I'll know your face_  
 _All I know since yesterday is everything has changed_

The song ends and we're pulled back into the real world as the whole room erupts in cheers. I look at her and she looks at me, and before we even realize it, we pull each other into a kiss, holding each other so tight. The rooms cheers even louder, but it seems even fainter to me. I'm just lost in emotion for this girl in front of me. We pull away and bow before running off the stage together, hands clasped in each other's firm and slightly shaky grip.

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Author's Note: I'm sorry I didn't update yesterday. I forgot to study for a major science test, and spent all my time on that. However, this is the longest chapter so far, and probably the longest I will post. I'm not great at kissing scenes, so I didn't dwell on it too much. Again, thanks for reading, please review. I hope you all enjoy, and I hope you all have great week. Till next time!


	16. First Magic, A Comet, & Some Stumbling

Disclaimer: I don't own the Harry Potter franchise, nor anything else affiliated with it.

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Hermione's POV

We finish the song and look at each other with pure joy. Before either of us even realize we're moving, we pull each other tight and kiss. We kiss in front of everyone else and surprisingly, I don't mind. I really couldn't care less about the others right now. We pull away, then bow, and run off the stage together. I'm not entirely sure but I think I hear people clapping and cheering for us. I can't be bothered to try and listen though. We exit the hall to catch a breather, but not before we see Pansy go up, pulling a scared looking Blaise behind her. If I wasn't distracted I'm sure I would have smirked at him. Great now Draco's mannerisms are rubbing off on me.

I guide Draco up to the astronomy tower, with him carrying his guitar over his shoulder. When we finally get up there, I let go of his hand so he can _reducio_ his guitar and put it in his pocket again. We both walk over to the window and look out at the night sky and the lake. The moon is fairly bright tonight and it casts a beautiful light on the water. The whole view is lit up because of the moon and the stars twinkling softly.

We stand for a moment, just looking out appreciating the view, before I ask Draco a question. It's something that I've wanted to ask for a while but was also a little weird.

"What was it like to grow up knowing you were a wizard?" I see that my question has caught him off guard. He seems shocked by it. He's silent for a bit, looking pensively at the handrail in front on us, then slowly he speaks up.

"Well, it was just kind of normal. When I showed my first signs of magic, it was shocking at first but at least I knew why it happened. My first sign was when I was about 7, I had just gotten another lecture from my father and I was walking back to my room. I just stood in front of a vase and glared at it as I wish I could at my father if I wouldn't get scolded. I was filled with so much hate and anger that the vase just shattered. I was so scared, I knew my father wouldn't be happy at all about it, so I ran and hid. He came up to my room and I started crying, I begged him to not send me to live with muggles and all sorts of nonsense that a 7 year old pure blooded kid comes up with when they're terrified. He just looked at me and carefully told me that I just showed my first sign of magic. He actually smiled at me and got me cookie. It was one of the only times my father was nice to me." He smirks a little with a rueful expression.

"Wow, I knew you had a rough childhood, but I didn't think it was that bad."

"Yeah, well most people assume I was pampered the whole time. Instead I was abandoned with just the house elves to take care of me. Now I'm curious to know, what was it like finding out you were a witch?" I should have seen the question coming, but for some reason I didn't. I organize my thoughts and think carefully before speaking.

"I don't know, I mean I had a pretty standard childhood up until I was 8. I was in muggle primary school when another girl was being bullied by some older boys. She stuttered a lot, and was very quiet. I got really angry and tried to tell them off. Then they turned to me and said that I was just a girl, 'what was I gonna do?'. I told them that I'd tell on them and one of them shoved me daring me to do it. I got really upset and yelled at him to not touch me. Just as I said that, they all flew back and hit the wall. I didn't think too much about it at first, but then I realized there was no way they could have gone that far even if you shoved them.

I tried researching it in the school library but I couldn't find anything. Other weird stuff happened as I got older including one time when I got upset that I couldn't have any candy when the other kids did, and I managed to turn my toothbrush into a lollipop. My parents weren't very happy with that since they're dentists." I see Draco looks a little confused when I say this.

"Oh right, Muggles have healers for their teeth called dentists. It's what my parents did. In the wizarding world there are charms to clean your teeth, but in the muggle world we have little brushes." Draco nods but I can tell he still doesn't quite get it. He can look it up later if he needs to.

"Anyway, then I got my Hogwarts letter, and finally everything made sense. I suddenly had an explanation after about 3 years of trying to figure it all out. I came to Hogwarts and it was just so surreal. Now I'm here, the brightest witch of our age. Sometimes it feels like this has all just been an elaborate dream and I'll wake up any second."

"I never thought of it that way. I guess it never really occurred to me that muggle borns had to have had a life before this, one they were torn away from and had to leave behind. I guess it's kinda weird." I silently agreed with him, I never thought about how it might have been to know about magic your whole life.

"It's funny, I feel like this is the most we've shared about each other. I wish this happened more often, maybe this can mark the start of a new chapter. A fresh start in our story together." I pause when I realize what I just said. "Wow sorry that sounded really cheesy."

"It was cheesy, but also kind of cute."

At that point a comet zoomed past us. We both looked up to look at it, and almost collided with each other. We laughed it off, but it was so nice to see the comet that we barely even acknowledged the blunder. We stayed there for about another 20 minutes just enjoying each other's presence and company.

"We should probably head back soon, before our friends send a search party for us." I say reluctantly, wishing we could stay here forever, learning everything possible thing about each other. It was really nice seeing a window into how he felt as a child, before all of the drama at Hogwarts, and it was also kind of nice to share how it felt to grow up a witch without knowing it.

"Yeah, we should. I don't want Blaise or the others to start rumours about what we did, especially after our kiss on stage. Oh my gosh, Pansy must be furious by now. I know she still has a bit of a crush on me and she gets very jealous, very easily." He says. I laugh at the thought of Pansy turning bright red with anger when she realized how long we've been gone.

"Not only that, but we kind of organized the ball. It's bad form to leave and not keep an eye on things." I add.

"True, that's quite right."

We walk at a moderate pace back to the Great Hall, to see a fifth year boy singing a very passionate rendition of Bohemian Rhapsody by Queen complete with dramatic dance moves. Some of the purebloods look kind of confused, but most of the muggleborns and half-bloods are hysterical. I find the sight really funny, and burst out laughing. Draco and I squeeze through the crowd to find our friends at our table talking with each other.

"Oh look, it's the love birds! Come back to join us after some love making?" says Blaise. I blush slightly, but just because I'm under pressure. I hate blushing because most people assume that I'm doing it because what they insinuated is true. Most of the time it isn't, and then rumours get out and no one let's it go for at least a couple of days.

"For your information Zabini, we were merely appreciating the beauty of the night sky. At least I didn't have to sing with Pansy." Even though we weren't around to see it, it must have been hilarious. I'm glad Draco answered though, as I don't trust myself to explain what happened without dithering.

"Ooh, you'll have to tell me all about it tomorrow Hermione. I want juicy details." says Ginny. I look at her with an exasperated look, but also signal that I will.

The rest of the dance passes without a hitch. We spend awhile at our table just chatting, then get up together and dance during one of the Weird Sisters last songs. Neville surprisingly, had the best dance moves, followed by Ginny, then Blaise, Padma, Parvati, Luna, me, and Draco. Draco looked like he was a baby horse trying to walk for the first time and I found it really cute. Eventually the ball ended, and Draco, the prefects, and I carefully took down everything as quickly as possible. It was a bit of a mess, but it was easier to clean up than if we had to do everything the muggle way. Soon we're finished and Draco and I send the prefects stumbling back to their dorms to go to bed.

I walked back to my room with Draco in tow, carrying a stack of bags containing decorations, and leftover supplies from the ball. I climbed through the portrait hole as gracefully as I could wearing high heels, carrying a huge pile of fabric, and of course being exhausted. Draco wasn't much better, and we both practically threw our bags onto the couches to sort out tomorrow before climbing up to our rooms and falling through our doors. I was so tired that I just collapsed onto my bed without taking off my clothes or removing my makeup, falling into a dreamless sleep.

If Ginny or Pansy was there to witness it, they'd probably have fainted at the sight of me ruining my dress like that. Having said that, if they were there I'd probably have fainted at the sight of them both being in my room.

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Author's Note: The Halloween ball has finally happened, please let me know what you guys think about it. I had a lot of fun writing this chapter. Please read and review, all feedback is welcome. Thanks for all your support and have a nice week. Till next time!


	17. A Conversation, a Blessing, & a Goodbye

Disclaimer: I don't own the Harry Potter franchise, nor anything affiliated with it.

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It's been a week since the ball, and three days since Hermione told me that we're all going to meet 'Saint Potter' in Hogsmeade today. I'm kind of upset that she didn't tell me earlier, but I do understand that it was pretty easy to forget about between the ball and catching up on homework.

I still haven't chosen what movie or song to do for my essay for muggle studies, and it's due pretty soon. I have about a week to get it sorted and write the darn thing. Maybe I should ask Hermione for some recommendations. I'd better write it down for later.

Anyway Hermione has just gathered us all together, Neville, Ginny, Luna, Blaise, and I, so that we can leave together as a group. We all walk down to the main entrance and get our names ticked off the list by Filch. I give a slight nod towards him as I pass which he returns as he has helped me in the past and is nicer to me than other students.

We arrive at Hogsmeade after about 10 minutes of walking, and make our way over to the Three Broomsticks to meet Potter. We head inside and see that he's already there and has saved a table for all of us to sit at. It's a decent sized booth in the corner that doesn't look too conspicuous, but still gives some privacy from the chaos of the rest of the bar. This is pretty good considering we're all fairly high profile people and with all of us here any reporters who find us would have plenty of stuff to write about.

We sit down after Harry hugs all of them and shakes hands with Blaise and I. Harry sits on one end followed by Ginny, then Neville, then Luna, then Blaise, then Hermione, and finally me. Hermione and Ginny catch Harry up on what's happened since the start of the school year, and we all jump in every now and then to fill in details they forget or to correct information and certain stories. We spend a decent amount of time on what has been happening with muggle studies and what we think of it.

"Potter, do you have a phone?" I ask suddenly. I don't even know why I do, it just popped into my head and I said it without thinking.

"Um, yes Malfoy. Why?" He replies with a confused expression. I can't believe I'm actually at the point where I can hold a civilized chat with Potter. The world really has flipped since the war.

"Oh sorry, it just popped into my head, I didn't mean to say it out loud." I say with a slight blush, which with my complexion must make me seem a red as a tomato.

"It's alright. So what kind of equipment have you hooked up Blaise and Draco with Hermione? You weren't very specific with your earlier letter, and I'm curious to know what they've learned to use." She smiles, obviously eager to tell him all about how she convinced two purebloods to become pretty 'tech savy'.

"Well, I've taught them how to use a Chromebook, a smartphone, a smartwatch or activity tracker, earbuds, a dvd player, and a USB key in case the internet fails at any point. Blaise actually gave me the idea of the smartwatch because he had seen it in a muggle magazine in class." She beams as she says this. I love how she knows exactly what she's shown us, and how she makes it sound so normal.

"Wow, they're more caught up with the mainstream tech than I thought. Have you or the professor for muggle studies introduced video games yet?" I wonder what that is. By the name, I would guess that it's some sort of game on a dvd, but it could be something much more complicated than that. I remember when she took us out to get smartphones, I thought it would just be a regular phone that could maybe do math as well or something. It was so much more than that, you can text, call, use it for basic arithmancy, as a light instead of lumos, you can take muggle or wizarding pictures, set reminders, make notes, check your email… there were just so many uses!

"No, neither I nor Professor Carrington have taught them about them yet. I believe that's part of Unit E, we are currently starting Unit C and working on a final project for Unit B. Unit A was on communication, Unit B is on pop-culture and basic entertainment, Unit C is on household appliances, Unit D is on transportation, Unit E is on more specific recreational activities and hobbies, Unit F is on work and jobs, Unit G is on politics and government, and Unit H is on muggle world history. I think we can wait till the proper time to teach them about video games, I don't need them becoming addicted to it and slacking on school work for awhile."

I can see Ginny smirking, and Blaise looking really interested in these 'video games'. I guarantee he's going to look it up later just to annoy Hermione. I am shocked that she knows the curriculum that well, but it really shouldn't surprise me after knowing her for so long. Even if I wasn't her friend, you'd have to be… well I guess Harry Potter to not notice her crazy studying habits and need for information.

"Ah yes, Granger and her control freak nature. I mean, there's no other way for us to possibly find out what these 'video games' are without your help. Oh wait! We can just look it up on the internet." Blaise says, in a very sarcastic, but light hearted manner. I was right.

"Agreed, Zabini. Hermione, I can't believe you haven't showed them yet! You're the best person to play Lego© Avengers that I know! You'd never guess that you'd be so good at it." says Harry. I see Blaise pull out a scrap piece of parchment to write down all these terms so he can look it up. Luna's just staring off into space, Neville is kind of confused but it looks like he understands some of what's going on, and Ginny has a very annoying 'knowing' smirk on her face.

We sit for awhile longer just talking about how stuff has been and Harry tells us about his Auror training and how much fun it is. Ginny ask how much of an idiot Ron's been, and Harry merely says that he's "the same as when you guys left for Hogwarts, if not worse". I notice that Hermione tenses up a bit next to me and I put a reassuring hand on her forearm. She relaxes a little at this, but not by much. We order some lunch as it's getting a little late and we're taking up a fairly large table for nothing, before going to Honeydukes.

We each get a small basket full of items and leave the store with small white canvas bags, except for Hermione who keeps hers in her beaded purse. Afterwards, we walk up to the lake and chat under a large tree. Harry, Neville, Blaise, and I make a competition out of skipping stones into the water, Slytherins vs. Gryffindors. Thankfully it was really sunny today, so it wasn't as chilly as it usually is in November.

At one point while the others were exchanging some of the samples that Harry got from George's latest line of creations for his joke shop, he pulled me aside to talk.

"Malfoy, I can see the way Hermione reacts when she's around you. Though she may try to deceive everyone else and even herself otherwise, she obviously likes you. I'm not going to try and stop it because she's Hermione, and I trust her judgement of you. From what I've seen here today, you and Blaise have changed a lot since last year, and I'm happy to see that.

For what it's worth, you have my 'blessing' to be friends or even more it ever gets there. Just know that if you break her heart, or if you've just been tricking us this whole time, don't ever doubt that I will kill you for it. She's like a sister to me, and when people come along and break her heart or her trust, I get very angry. I trust you won't do that, but seeing as how her parents are dead, I feel obligated to give you the dad talk.

Just watch out for Ron alright? If he finds out that you and Hermione are becoming close, or are even just friends, he just might explode. As in, even worse than in Diagon Alley. I just want to give you a heads up."

"Thanks Potter, that felt weird but I'm glad you aren't going to kill me in the middle of the night. Weasley on the other hand may be an issue, but we'll cross that road when we get there." He gives me nod and we walk back together. We spend the rest of the day by the lake, and then later, we walk Potter back to the the village so he can apparate back to the Ministry. We give Ginny time to say goodbye in private, since she hadn't seen her boyfriend for about 2 months, then we all said our goodbyes. I just gave him a solid handshake when it was my turn and wished him luck with his job.

We go back to the castle and retire to our rooms after our long day. Once Hermione and I walk through our portrait hole, she gives me a big hug.

"Thank you for not causing trouble today. I know it was probably awkward, but I figured that if you and Blaise spent the day with us and Harry, he would be a lot less suspicious of you guys, and might even be friendly to you. Ron's a different story altogether, and actually I'd rather keep our friendship a secret from him for my sake as well as yours. I hope you weren't too bored or uncomfortable. Again, thanks for coming." With that she pulls away and walks up to her room. When she's about halfway up the stairs, I call out to her.

"Hermione!" I hear her stop. "It was my pleasure to join you and your, I mean our friends today. Goodnight, I hope you get a good night's rest." She comes back down a few steps and looks at me with a beautiful smile before replying.

"You too Draco, you too." Then she carries on to her room leaving me standing in the common room, realizing that I should probably head up too. I get ready for bed, and lie down thinking to myself about the day's events and how much I actually enjoyed myself. My last thought before I fell asleep was of Hermione standing next to the lake, a bright smile on her face as the light from the setting sun made her eyes and hair glow like gold, and the wonderful nature scene around her.

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Author's Note: I'm trying to integrate more characters, and include more interaction with characters into the story to hopefully spice it up a bit more. The point in the story where we are at right now is pretty happy, but I'm planning on drowning some of the characters in a little bit more of pain soon if that makes any sense. Thanks for all your support, please read and review. Feedback is always welcome, and if you catch any mistakes feel free to send them to me. I tend to think faster than I can type, so I'll probably miss some words here and there. Thanks again for reading, and have a wonderful week. Till next time!


	18. A Basket, Cookies, & Motivations

Disclaimer: I do not own the Harry Potter franchise, not anything affiliated with it.

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Hermione's POV

I am in the library studying for a Potions test when I hear someone sneak up next to me. I turn around to see Draco with a nervous smile on his face. He appears to be hiding a small picnic basket, like the stereotypical ones you see in muggle movies, behind his back.

"Hey Hermione, I was wondering if you wanted to have a picnic dinner tonight on the Astronomy tower? Before you ask, I already got permission to use it from Professor Sinistra. No one will bother us, it'll just be you and me. Also I know we don't have any homework due for the next 3 days, so don't say you're too busy." After a moment he adds. "Please come."

For a moment I'm too shocked to respond. He seems to know me well enough to assume what I might object to, and the questions I would ask of him first. He's left me with no other response besides yes or no, and me being the person I am, I can't really no to this proposal. Besides, there doesn't seem to be a problem with the situation as far as I can tell; it's not as if I don't trust him.

"I would love to come, just give me a second to pack up my books." At my response, his nervous smile turns into a grin. He patiently waits while I gather my stuff, as he knows that I'm very particular about my school work and supplies and I very much dislike it when people mess things up. When I'm finished gathering my stuff we walk up to the astronomy tower, dropping my books in our common room on the way.

Once we get up there, Draco pulls a blanket from the picnic basket, and sets out a plate of pumpkin cookies, tea sandwiches, a bowl of chocolate covered strawberries, a container of vanilla ice cream with a cooling charm to prevent it from melting, and a jug of lemonade. The food seems like more of a lunch thing, but before I say anything, he conjures a swirly orb-like light and makes it hover above us to give the effect of a sun. We eat for awhile in silence before I decide to start the conversation.

"This food is really good. Did you make it yourself or did you manage to persuade some of the house elves to do it for you?"

"I got one of the house elves that used to work at Malfoy manor to do it, with the exception of the cookies. As I said the last time we were up here, the house elves were pretty much parents to me. Well anyway, Dobby had this amazing recipe for butter cookies, and I decided to ask Winky if Dobby ever taught it to her. Apparently he did, and with a little bit of persuasion, she helped make all of this for us."

"Wow, that's really cool. You really did put a lot of thought into this. I do have another question though, you don't have to answer but I'm just a little curious. Why did you bully me so much in our earlier years and what made you change?" I can see that he's formulating his answer, and I let him have a few moments. He opens his mouth a couple times but then shuts it, and flustered and slightly rueful smile on his face. He finally responds after a couple of minutes.

"Well, I was brought up with all these prejudices against muggles and muggle borns. I never knew any muggle borns, so it was easy to believe that they were 'animals' and lesser than us purebloods. When you're young, you believe whatever you're taught, especially when it comes from your parents. It doesn't matter if it makes sense, it's just all you know. When I met you, it was still easy to pretend that you were less than human. My conscience did nag at me when I bullied you, but I didn't want to get hurt by my father so I just got worse. As I got older, I started doubting these ideas, but I couldn't very well suddenly change my views and attitude. I was worried that the Slytherins and my friends would judge me or tell my father, and he would have been furious. It got so much harder when Voldemort came back. Especially when I was tapped to become a Death Eater.

I never actually had a choice in the matter. If I refused the mark, my family would have been hurt as punishment. My father may have been unnecessarily cruel to me, but he is still my family. I have always had very strong love for his mother, even though it was unrequited. It was because of this that I was reluctant to disobey his orders, and I became a Death Eater. As things progressed in sixth year, I felt like my soul was being crushed more and more every day. The weight of everything I was doing was awful, but I had to keep doing it for the sake of my family, and myself. It was a matter of survival. I was essentially being blackmailed. During that time, I had to re-enforce the mask I had already started building from a young age. I hid my emotions from everyone and pushed every doubt I had deep into the recesses of my mind. I had to bury everything that could have caused me to slip under many layers as some Death Eaters used Occlumency and Voldemort often used it at the drop of a hat to see if he could trust his followers."

He finishes his answer, and I realize that I've gotten a much lengthier and deeper answer than I had hoped for. He's basically thrown his heart out there for me to catch, and I can't afford to drop it now. I have to choose my next words very carefully, or this will all crumble like a house of cards.

"I've never thought about it that way. I guess it never crossed my mind that any Death Eaters might have doubts, and what might become of them. One of the shortfalls of the "good" people in war, is that they assume that the other side either is completely for what they're doing or they don't want to do it at all. I guess that's true, but they also assume that they can just stop what they're doing at the drop of a hat and join us. It's not that easy is it? If Voldemort ever found out, he would make your life a living hell and hunt all your loved ones wouldn't he. I'm so sorry you had to go through all that last year."

I can see all the plain emotion in his eyes as he relives all of the turmoil he went through over the last few years of his life. I get up from where I'm sitting and give him a tight hug. Not a soft reassuring hug, a strong hug that will let him know that I'm there for him, that I'll be there for him to hold onto for dear life whenever he needs me to. I try to convey as much emotion into it as I possibly can with such a simple gesture. I feel him hug me back just as tight, and we just sit there like this for awhile. When we finally let each other go he looks at me with a cautious look and asks me a question.

"Hermione, I've wanted to ask you this for awhile now, and I got approval from Potter the other day to do this, but would you be my girlfriend?" I stare at him for awhile, the answer right in front of me. It feels too good to be true. I've always wished I had the courage to ask him, but I guess he beat me.

"Absolutely! I've wanted to ask you the same thing since that potions class." I can tell he knows exactly which class I'm talking about, as I'm guessing we both had similar experiences. "Draco, I've wanted to say this for awhile, but I love you."

"I love you too Hermione, I'm never letting you go." He then pulls me in close to him and kisses me. It's a lot softer than the one we had on stage during the ball, but there is so much more emotion behind this one. We pull away and look at each other's eyes, before packing up our stuff to return to our dorm. We drop off the dishes and basket by the portrait that leads to the kitchens for the house elves to pick up, then retire to our rooms, to consumed in thought to focus on homework right then.

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Author's Note: Sorry this is a smaller chapter, but it was mostly a bit of a filler chapter before the next big event. Sorry as well for the later update. Please review, I really appreciate feedback, and I apologize for any errors in my work. I think a lot faster than I can type, and I have very hard time finding the errors in my work unless I print it which uses a lot of paper. Anyway thanks for your support, and have a great week. Till next time!


	19. A Gut Feeling, Lullabies, & Inheritance

Disclaimer: I do not own the Harry Potter franchise nor anything affiliated with it. I also do not own any songs used in this fic, all rights to those songs belong to the artists, go support their work on Youtube, Spotify, or other music platforms.

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Draco's POV

I walk into my room after classes today, and pull out my journal. I try to start my entry, but I just don't have the concentration to do that. It's almost 3 days before the muggle studies essay is due, but I still haven't started it yet. I haven't even chosen the song or movie that I'll be writing the essay on. I need to work on it but I can't concentrate. I've had trouble focusing all day because I have a really bad gut feeling. Something is wrong, but I can't figure out what it is.

I pace the room for a while and start practising some simple spells on the objects in my room. Spells like wingardium leviosa and accio. I bring out my guitar and start playing some of the lullabies my mother used to play to me when I was restless and needed to calm down. I play through them endlessly and after awhile, I hear a knock at the door. I open it to see Hermione with a plate of food.

"Hey Draco, I was just wondering if you're okay. I noticed you were pretty distracted today and then you didn't turn up at dinner. I brought you some food in case you were hungry, since you didn't eat earlier. The rest of the group and I were worried. Do you want to talk about it?" I love that Hermione noticed all of that and that she cared enough to bring me food. Though it's Hermione so I really shouldn't be surprised.

"Yeah sure, come on in. It's a bit of a mess in here, but we can sit on the bed." She follows me over to the bed, and then hands me the plate of food.

"So why are you so distracted today? Did something happen, or was it just a 'meh' day?" She asks me after I've taken a couple of bites of the food.

"I honestly don't know, I just have a weird feeling that something's wrong or that something bad has happened, but I haven't gotten or letter or something. It's like I can tell somethings wrong, but I don't know what it is!" I sort of just sit there for a second and stare at the half empty plate. Suddenly I don't feel to hungry but I don't know why.

I'm sick and tired of not knowing. It's always been a problem, like not knowing if I should be Death Eater, not knowing if my friends had survived the battle of Hogwarts and worrying about them, not knowing whether Hermione liked me or not, not knowing if Potter was going to kill me when he pulled me aside to talk to me in Hogsmeade, not knowing if Ron is going to hunt me down soon, not knowing why I feel off today, and not knowing why I don't want to eat. The last one sounds trivial, but it all matters in the moment it happens.

Hermione just looks at me for awhile in a somewhat calculating sort of way. Then she reaches over to squeeze my hand in a reassuring way. She smiles at me and says, "Don't worry you'll figure it out soon enough, or maybe it was just 'one of those days'. Maybe you got food poisoning or something like that. It would explain why you seem to have stopped eating since I know your usual appetite is larger than that." She says, gesturing to the unfinished food on my plate. I give a small smile back in response, but it doesn't quite reach my eyes.

Just then I hear a knock from the window, and see a brown and golden owl with a letter in its beak. I go over and open the window to let the owl in and see that it's raining and really gloomy. Great, the weather matches my mood as well, today really is not my day. I take the letter from the owl's beak, rub his head, and give him a treat, before letting him fly out again into the cold rain.

I walk back to bed and take a look at the letter. First I look at the envelope and determine that it's a formal letter as it has a very formulaic layout, and when I receive messages from friends and family, it's usually just addressed to 'Draco' as supposed to 'Mr. Draco Malfoy'. I turn it over and the seal indicates it's from the Ministry of Magic. The sense of dread that had been building up all day suddenly grew stronger. I knew that this letter, whatever it contained, had to be very bad. With a deep breath I open the letter and start reading it.

 _Dear Mr. Malfoy,_

 _We regret to inform you that your mother, Narcissa Malfoy, has passed away recently._

I stop reading. I go back read the line again.

 _We regret to inform you that your mother, Narcissa Malfoy, has passed away recently._

That can't be right. No. Not my mother. Not after everything that's already happened and gone wrong in my life.

I swallow and force myself to keep reading.

 _For more details on why and how, please contact the Department of Mortuary Affairs with your name, the name of the deceased, and your relation to them. In accordance with Ms. Malfoy's will, you shall receive a key within the next 72 hours to her personal savings account in Gringotts, full access to her collection of art, and a journal which should arrive at the same time as they key._

 _The full reading of her will shall be held Saturday December 9 2017, from 1:30pm-4:30pm at the Department of Mortuary Affairs office on the 4th floor of the Ministry in London. As you are the only one in line for the property that is Malfoy Manor, with Lucius Malfoy being incarcerated in Azkaban, you will have ownership of it till such a time comes as to when Lucius Malfoy becomes eligible to repossess it. Upon such a time, he shall take command of the property till his death, unless it is repossessed by the bank for financial issues._

 _As you are still a student in Hogwarts, you have been given leave for the day of the full reading of Ms. Malfoy's will, and a copy of this letter, with certain details removed for privacy, has been sent to your Headmistress McGonagall for her to confer with you how long you will spend in mourning._

 _Our deepest sympathies,_

 _Helga Barnagie_

 _Head of the Department of Mortuary Affairs_

The rest of the letter feels so cold and removed. There is nothing at all comforting about it.

I stare at the letter for a while, and Hermione looks at me with a worried expression. I contemplate hiding the letter from her, but I can't trust myself to speak right now. I hand her the letter and watch her skim it. She looks shocked at first, and then starts to look sad. When she's done, she looks up at me and says, "Do you want to talk about it or…"

"No, do you mind leaving? I just want to be alone for a bit." I say. I hope it doesn't sound rude, but I won't be able to hold back my tears for much longer.

"Yeah sure, just remember, I'll be here for you. I know what you're going through." I realize that she really does, seeing as how her parents died during the war. Once she leaves and shuts the door behind her, I grab my guitar from where I left it earlier and pick it up. I cast muffliato, and try to remember the song I heard about 2 months back, when Hermione shared her music playlist with me. I think it's called Supermarket Flowers by Ed Sheeran.

 _I took the supermarket flowers from the windowsill_  
 _I threw the day old tea from the cup_  
 _Packed up the photo album Matthew had made_  
 _Memories of a life that's been loved_  
 _Took the get well soon cards and stuffed animals_  
 _Poured the old ginger beer down the sink_  
 _Dad always told me, "don't you cry when you're down"_  
 _But mum, there's a tear every time that I blink_

I think back to when I was about 5 years old. It was about 20 minutes before a gala in our house. The house elves tried to get my into formal wear, but I wouldn't have it. My mother came up to see what the fuss was, and saw me almost on the verge of tears not wanting to get out of my pyjamas. She sat down with me and let me sit on her lap.

 _Oh I'm in pieces, it's tearing me up, but I know_  
 _A heart that's broke is a heart that's been loved_

 _So I'll sing Hallelujah_  
 _You were an angel in the shape of my mum_  
 _When I fell down you'd be there holding me up_  
 _Spread your wings as you go_  
 _And when God takes you back we'll say Hallelujah_  
 _You're home_

She took the clothes and asked me why I didn't want to wear them. I told her that they weren't as comfy as my pyjamas, and I didn't want to wear what my father wanted me to. She had a small smile on her face and asked if she could turn my pyjamas into a suit so it would be comfy, but still fancy. I still wasn't convinced so my mother, the ultimate image of sophistication and elegance, got dressed into a pair of her pyjamas and turned it into an evening gown to demonstrate her idea to me.

 _I fluffed the pillows, made the beds, stacked the chairs up_  
 _Folded your nightgowns neatly in a case_  
 _John says he'd drive then put his hand on my cheek_  
 _And wiped a tear from the side of my face_

 _I hope that I see the world as you did cause I know_  
 _A life with love is a life that's been lived_

I liked the idea at that point and she turned my pyjamas into a suit. Together we went down and we were the best dressed that day, but throughout the dance we smiled at each other knowing that the clothes were really pyjamas. It's really small, but it was one of the things she did that made me love her so much.

 _So I'll sing Hallelujah_  
 _You were an angel in the shape of my mum_  
 _When I fell down you'd be there holding me up_  
 _Spread your wings as you go_  
 _And when God takes you back we'll say Hallelujah_  
 _You're home_

My mother did many small caring things for me throughout my childhood that helped make up for all of the times she had to ignore me, or when my father thought I was useless or unworthy. I think about our last days together, how we took walks in the garden and just marvelled at it's beauty together. I feel sad knowing that I'd never get to talk to her about nature ever again. I also realize that she will never know that I found a girl after all. I know she was always worried that I wouldn't find a woman who loved me or one whom I loved, especially when we got closer and closer to the war. She worried that no one would ever love Death Eater, no matter how charming or sweet I was around her.

 _Hallelujah_  
 _You were an angel in the shape of my mum_  
 _You got to see the person that I have become_  
 _Spread your wing_  
 _And I know that when God took you back he said Hallelujah_  
 _You're home_

I place my guitar on the floor next to its case and I suddenly feel the pressing weight of complete and utter exhaustion. I just manage to fall onto my bed before I'm engulfed in a fitful sleep filled with memories of my mother.

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Author's Note: I'm sorry about updating less frequently, but I will try to make sure I update every other day at least. I have lots of ideas for the rest of fic, so it should just be a matter of banging them out in a readable manner. In case any of you are wondering, I made up the "Department of Mortuary Affairs" though there is a real one in the U.S. army. Thanks for all of your support, please review. I hope you all have a nice week, till next time.


	20. Food, Faithfulness, & Life Reflections

Disclaimer: I do not own the Harry Potter franchise, nor anything else affiliated. I also do not own any songs used in this fic, all rights to those songs belong to the artists, go support their work on Youtube, Spotify, or other music platforms.

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Hermione's POV

It's been about two days since Draco got the letter from the Ministry about his mother's death. He hasn't left his room once, and I haven't heard much noise from him either. It would be one thing if I could hear movement in there but because there is none, my mind likes makes the worst possible conclusions. The only indication I have that he is alive, is the consumed plate of food just outside his door. Everyday when I go for meals in the Great Hall I get a plate for Draco and put a note under his door to tell him that there is food outside. Somehow he manages to time it in such a way that I'm never around when he gets the plate and puts it back.

I feel really bad, that I'm not doing enough for him, but I don't want to bother him either. I remember wanting to be alone for awhile after dealing with the death of my parents, but I also wished that people had come looking for me and tried harder to reach out to me. So although I might leave him alone for now, I'll continue to support him in small ways and be ready for him. If I need to, I'll break into his room to coax him out of the shell I know he's building right now.

I walk up to his room now and pull out the note I wrote today in class. Along with the plate of food for dinner that I place in front of the door, I slide the note under like I usually do. I've started leaving little book quotes on the paper as well. The quote I use today is from a trilogy I read a couple years back called the Legend trilogy by Marie Lu. The quote is 'Each day means a new twenty-four hours. Each day means everything's possible again. You live in the moment, you die in the moment, you take it all one day at a time.' It's one of my favourite quotes and it helped me live through every day when I felt lost and sad in the middle years at Hogwarts.

Once I've placed the food and note, I turn to my room and gather my stuff to get to work on my homework. I set my stuff up on my desk in my room and go over my essay once again to make sure it's alright. I'm always worried that I'll miss the mistakes in my work as I used to have a big problem with that when I used to go to muggle Primary school. It was always little things that the teachers didn't really mind, but I still didn't like making the mistakes in the first place. I finish reading it over again and roll in up ready to hand in to Professor Carrington. I've started doing my homework in my room now, as Draco probably won't be coming out for awhile and it feels weird to do my work in the common room all alone. I've always done my work with other people so I decided to just completely change the setting for my work.

I go online and check my homework planner to make sure I haven't forgotten any work tonight. My plan shows that I don't have any assignments due for the next while, so open one of my favourite websites. My parents didn't let me use social media when I was younger and I never saw the appeal in doing so anyway, however both my mother and I always loved using Pinterest. I open it to check my feed and spend a good hour on it. I find that my feed is often filled with a lot of funny stories, or headcanons about my favourite books or fandoms. Most of my friends don't know it, but I'm a complete nerd when it comes to my fandoms. One of my favourites is the MCU or Marvel Cinematic Universe as it is so thoroughly connected, allowing people to see many different hidden connections.

Once I feel like taking a break, I go outside and check to see if the plate it gone. The plate is still outside the door, but the food is all gone and the plate is scraped clean. I collect it and take it directly down to the kitchens. Once I get down there, I take the pear on the fruit bowl portrait to let myself in. Once I'm in, I find Winky to give the dishes to her.

"Hi Winky." I say.

She turns around in surprise.

"Hello Mistress Hermione. What can Winky do for you today?" I smile at her.

"I just have some dishes and I was wondering if I could give them to you to take care of."

"Of course Mistress Hermione. Winky would love to help such a wonderful person, Mistress only need ask. Next time Mistress should just summon Winky so she doesn't have to travel down all those stairs."

I can't help but laugh at her last statement. "Winky, it's alright. I enjoy the walks down here anyway. I need more exercise." Winky just nods and takes the dishes from me."

"Does Mistress need anything else? A plate of cookies?" I remember what Draco said about the cookies Dobby used to make him and that they always made him feel happy. Perhaps it'll cheer him up.

"Actually Winky, I might take you up on the cookies. That'll be all though. Thank you." She nods in affirmation.

"Mistress is always welcome. Winky will send the cookies up to your dorm right now."

I then turn and leave to get back to our room. When I get back, I see a plate of the cookies I requested lying on the kitchen counter. I pick it up and go up to his room, then knock on his door to see if he'll answer it.

"Draco, are you okay?" No response, with a sigh I sit in front of the door and begin my evening routine.

"Well today in Potions we started working on the Girding Potion, it gives the drinker extra endurance.

In Transfiguration we were working on turning ourselves into other objects. It's pretty fun, but Hannah managed to do it so that she turned herself into a chest of drawers with one arm and one leg. It was pretty funny.

In muggle studies we haven't done too much, but we'll be starting our unit on transportation soon. I know you want to miss it, so you better come out soon. Everyone's wondering what's happened to you, and I don't have any answers for them.

Anyway in Arithmancy we're doing exponential and logarithmic functions, it's been pretty good so far but Professor Septima wants to move the test date two days earlier. She's made me reschedule my entire math study plan. Anyway, it's getting late so I have to go know. Please come out soon Draco, we really miss you. I'll always wait for you." I then place the cookies by his door before slipping a piece of parchment that says, 'A treat from Winky' under his door.

After that I get up and go to my room and put on a song while I fall asleep. I select the playlist I made during 5th year as I haven't listened to it in a while and from what I remember of it, it kind of connects to my mood right now. I set up a timer for it to go off in about 20 minutes, then hit shuffle and repeat before placing my phone on my bedside table and curling up in a ball under my sheets.

In sixth year I was always worried about my friends and their safety, and I made a promise to myself to always be there for them when they needed me. That's how I feel right now, and the music on the playlist reflected that feeling. The playlist contains about 20 songs but will probably only play 7 before the timer goes off, and about 4 songs before I fall asleep.

The first song to come up is Photograph by Ed Sheeran. When I listened to it the first time, I connected to the more romantic side of the song and I still do. However there is a line in there about even if 'you hurt me… I won't ever let you go'. I found this connected both romantically in terms of waiting for Ron to return my feelings, and in terms of Harry when he often left me and Ron out of the loop as to what he was doing with Dumbledore and why he was following Draco. They both pushed me away in their own ways, but I still held on and waited for them through thick and thin.

The second song is We Are Brave by Shawn McDonald. This song is a bit more peppy than most of the music in my playlists, and a little more abstract in my current situation, but it still connects. The song is all about standing through fires together. It's very easy to fall apart without support, and I learned that the hard way. I was eventually really depressed after the war and I wish my friends had tried harder to reach me, so I'll pass on the favor to Draco and do my best to reach him with what resources I have. I'm determined to not let him waste his life, no matter how sad and upset he is right now.

The next song is A Rush Of Blood to the Head by Coldplay. This song has a bit of a menacing feel to it, but I see it as a promise to stand by a friend or partner especially when they're hurting. You should always do your best to help the hurting, as you never know when you might need it next. As the song is playing, I remind myself of my promise to help Draco come out of this in one piece and with as little judgement from our peers, as I know they are already gossiping about him.

The last song is Speak Life by TobyMac. I love this song because of its positive message. No matter happens to you in life, always strive to be as positive as possible and empathetic. Words have to power to hurt and give hope, give and take life. One thing that my parents taught me is to T.H.I.N.K. about what I say. What you say should be True, Helpful, Inspirational, Necessary, and Kind. I know that I failed at this miserably when I used to fight with Draco, but I hope that I've moved past that. Now my everyday goal is to speak life into Draco to help him come back to us.

As these songs finish, I finally let my brain rest after using it to think about very tiring thought. I've exhausted my brain for tonight, and now I can let it rest in peace before another day of the chaos known as life.

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Author's Note: I was wondering if I could have some feedback from you guys about an idea I've had about a bit later in this fic. What do you guys think about me adding in another relationship that will still have Dramione in the forefront, but will coexist. Hermione and Draco will play a huge part in this pairing's life, and vice versa. Let me know what you think, and if you want to to know who the side pairing is, feel free to Private Message me. Anyway, thanks for the continued support, and I'm sorry I haven't updated in a couple of days. Adding in A Rush of Blood to the Head was inspired by a fic I read awhile ago, also Dramione that is really good. The story is called Magnetic Attraction by ellamalfoy8. I can't make promises, but I'm hoping to have the next chapter up Monday. Feel free to give feedback, it's always appreciated. Have a great week, till next time!


	21. Nightmares, Notes, & Pain Induced Poetry

Disclaimer: I do not own the Harry Potter franchise nor anything affiliated with it.

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Draco's POV

I'm in the manor, walking down the main staircase. My surroundings are mostly dark since it's night, but they're also bathed in a strange shifting pale green light, almost like the source is underwater. When I reach the bottom, I feel an urge to enter the living room nearby. I hesitate, but as I do so my dark mark burns.

I slowly creep to the white wooden door that's been left ajar. The flames from the fire cast a wobbling glow on my face as I peek inside. I see my mother sitting in a white leather armchair facing the fireplace with a glass of crystal delicately balanced in her hand. I carefully push the door open but she doesn't move, she just stays stays staring at the fire. I walk over slowly and touch her shoulder.

I know something's wrong when I feel how cold she is, even through the fabric of her robes.

"Mother what are you doin-" I suddenly jump when she turns around with inhuman speed and grabs my wrist with an iron grip. Her eyes are black and look dead, her skin is a pale as a corpse and seems to hang off of her body.

"What have you done my son? You've disgraced the family name by marrying the mudblood Granger. Voldemort has already killed your father in retribution, but he is coming for you just as he's coming for me." she rasps. Her hand starts to feel really heavy and I feel a strong burning sensation coming from it. I look down to see black vines coming from it that look similar to the lines on the Dark Mark. They wrap around my arm and my shoulder, climbing around my whole body engulfing me. Just before they completely obscure my vision, my mother speaks one last time.

"I feel him coming for us, and it's all your fault! I died because of you!"

I bolt upright in my bed, knocking the covers off. I'm covered in a sheen of sweat and my Dark Mark throbs. Not in the way it did when he used to summon us, but in a shallow and subtle way. I grab a pillow and cover it quickly before I remember what happened last year. This is the 5th night in a row now that I've had nightmares. I thought they had stopped during the summer, that I was finally rid of them. The death of my mother seems to have brought them back in full swing. All the nightmares have connected to my mother, my family's disappointment in me, and Hermione.

Hermione, she's done so much for me in these last few days. I'm so grateful for her support, but I can't bring myself to leave my room. I feel really distant and distracted, I'm glad she hasn't given up on me yet. It's not that I'm really upset about my mother dying, I'm upset that I never got to share as much as I wanted to with her. I'll never be able to ask her for advice with women, never be able to gain her approval of whom I wed, she'll never have a chance to see her only heir get married, she'll never have a chance of having any grandchildren, she'll never have the life she's always wanted. First it was Voldemort that got in the way, then it was all the prejudice from both sides that poisons the wizarding world so much these days, and now she's dead.

Anyway, Hermione has been supporting me in many ways. She's one of the only reasons I don't give up so easily. I always find it amazing how much she does for her friends, now I'm part of that group as well. Potter and Weasley take her for granted, but she has never expected anything back. She supplies me with food everyday, making sure that I stay healthy even in my half-dead state. Many friends would do that, but not as many would take the time to leave notes or make sure I stay caught up with what's been happening in everyday life. I love hearing her go over her day and while she does that, I feel happy for that brief period of time. Then there was the cookies she brought about 3 days ago. I really liked those and they made me feel a little better.

I get up from the bed and check the time on my watch. It's 3:04, so I know Hermione's asleep at this point. I go to the bathroom and make sure I lock the door before washing my face and taking a good look at my face. Though my room has a huge window with a wonderful view of the hills, I haven't opened the curtains during my 'hibernation' period so I look even paler than usual. My face looks gaunt, despite the fact that I'm eating all the food that Hermione's given me, and I look very tired due to my disturbed sleep, with bloodshot eyes, bags under them, and skin that's even paler than usual. I take a quick shower before leaving the bathroom in case Hermione wakes up and needs to use it.

I walk back into my room and gather all the notes she's given me. I place them in a circle and read through them all before gathering them and pulling them to my chest as I roll back on the carpeted floor and cry silently. This is one of the many things I learnt when I was younger. My father always taught me to never show emotion, as 'Malfoy's don't cry'. I could never do this, so instead I learnt how to do it in as quiet a way as possible. As I lie on the floor crying silent tears, I suddenly feel the urge to pick up my journal. I slow my breathing down and collect myself as I wipe my tears with the back of my hand. I take the notes and place them in a sort of pile on my desk as I grab the journal and sit down. I feel fragments of poetic lines start to form in my head and quickly put quill to paper and let the words just flow.

Watch it burn, lick the flames

As it crumbles in the silent rain

As the ashes rise and the crows descend

As the blood all falls and the tears don't end

As the cries grow silent and the colours ebb away

As the bonds they break and the thoughts they fray

I place the quill back in it's holder and read over what I've written. It's a short bit of poetry, but it helps me get the emotion of the Battle of Hogwarts out of my head. It's strange, I'm trying to get over my emotions about my mother and instead she's helped me sort out my emotions for another part of my life.

I sit there for a while before pulling out my laptop and opening my Google Drive. I type out the poem there so I can look back at it in two different places. I then open YouTube and create a happier playlist to keep my negative emotions at bay. Music affects my mood quite a bit so I want to use it to improve my mood a bit.

I then dive into my homework because it feels wrong to not do any school work for such a long time and Hermione's been rubbing off on me way too much. Doing my homework gives me a sense of purpose and I don't feel too much while doing it as you just need motivation to get it done and over with. I don't want to hand the work in yet when I finish, but at least I have the work done so when I finally get over myself I can hand it in. I rub my eyes and realize I'm feeling pretty tired. I close the tabs after checking through my email one more time, and crawl back into bed just in time for Hermione to be waking up to get ready for school.

* * *

Author's Note: The poem is mine and I hope you like it. I wrote it about a year ago at like 12am while 'sleep drunk', but otherwise I think it fits pretty well. Sorry it's a shorter chapter, but we're almost to the end of this particular section. I'm sorry if anyone disagrees with how I've dealt with Draco's emotions, grief, and fears or if it wasn't communicated in a clear enough way. I'm basing it off what I know and since none of my parents have died, thank goodness, I'm just kind of guessing. Anyway thanks for your support, feedback is always welcome, and thanks for reading. Have a great week, till next time!


	22. Confrontation, Revelations, & Open Doors

Disclaimer: I do not own the Harry Potter franchise, nor anything affiliated with it. I also do not own any songs used in this fic, all rights to those songs belong to the artists, go support their work on Youtube, Spotify, or other music platforms.

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Hermione's POV

It's been a couple of days since Draco hid himself from the rest of us and I'm starting to feel really lonely. Ginny and Luna have had a lot of assignments due recently so they can't spend as much time with me, Neville has been busy helping Professor Sprout take care of the plants on the Hogwarts premises before winter as the battle damaged most of them, and Blaise has been spending most of his time running away from the seventh and eighth year Slytherin girls since they realized he was the only male Slytherin with lots of money and a good reputation. I feel happy for the boys, but I also feel kind of jealous. As a Head I have a lot of responsibilities, some of which I've had to take over for Malfoy, but right now it's just patrolling and being the communication point between the teachers and students. I don't have very much to do besides that as I've hit a bit of a slow point in school work and I must have read almost all the books in the library by now.

I walk out of the Transfiguration classroom and head down to the Great Hall after dropping my books off in my room. I sit with my friends like usual, but I don't feel like eating a lot today. I gather a plate for Draco and start to leave when I hear someone call, or rather screech, my name.

"Granger!" I turn around in surprise to see Pansy stalking after me. She reaches me in just a few strides and drags me into the hallway. I struggle to not drop the food and just barely balance it properly.

"What have you done to my Draco!" she practically yells at me. She doesn't seem that sad or heartbroken, just angry.

"Sorry what?" I look at her in confusion, not quite understanding what she's talking about.

"My Drakie-poo hasn't been seen for days now! What have you done to him, killed him? Finally got sick of him calling you a mudblood and hoped your war-hero status would save you from Azkaban? Well it won't!" I stare at her, and after a few moments I laugh. It starts out as a giggle at first, but soon it's hysterical. She starts to look confused and slightly perturbed by my behaviour. I take a few deep breaths before answering her in the simplest way possible in an attempt to get it in her thick skull.

"Pansy, I haven't done anything to Draco. His mother died about a week ago and he's been mourning this whole time. In fact, I'm on my way right now to give him some food so he doesn't starve to death."

"Ohh, well… you're still a filthy mudblood slime ball. Hmph." She says very indignantly. At that she stalks off and I have to bite my lip to prevent myself from laughing yet again. The whole encounter was so stupid and pathetic. I walk up to my dorm room and climb the stairs to our rooms before leaving the plate of food by Draco's door with another note.

I settle down for the evening and do some homework. When I finish that I read for about an hour before I put the book down in utter boredom. It's really sad, but books no longer capture me in the same way they did before the war. They all seem so fake now, particular my adventure novels, or just plain boring. I never thought that day would ever come but here I am now, completely and utterly bored and not wanting to read books. I carefully place the book on my shelf, just because I don't find them as interesting as before doesn't mean I don't hold them in high value, and leave to take a walk. My patrols don't start for another hour, but if I don't go out I'll go insane.

As Head Girl, I can leave and wander the grounds without permission or supervision, but I haven't really used that privilege till now. I walk down to the lake and sit under a tree to watch the sun set. I sit and just take in the crisp fall air, the golden rays of sun that are slowly fading, the soft touch of the grass underneath me, the smell of the trees surrounding me, the shimmering surface of the lake, and just the delicacy of it all. I allow myself to just stop thinking and relax. After awhile, I get up and return to the castle to do my patrols.

I wander the halls and break up a couple squabbles, as well as direct a group of lost first years. We really should give them maps or at least have a couple interactive ones on the walls in more secluded spaces, especially since the portraits are almost useless at giving directions. I remember that even though I read Hogwarts: A History about twice in first year and could tell you the placement of every single portrait in the school, I still got lost many times before Harry and Ron became friends with me. Actually I still did even when they befriended me, in fact I think it happened even more often with them.

I return to my dorms to collect Draco's plate and take it down to the kitchens like usual. As I take it down I think back to Pansy's words from earlier, and my own response when I remember a small bit that I said. When she accused me of doing something to him, I said that I 'hadn't done anything to him', and though that's not entirely true, I could be doing more. I've been scared about pressuring him, but it's been awhile and I think I need to try a little harder. I think back to when we first started becoming friends. It was probably on the Hogwarts Express coming to Hogwarts. When I look back at it, the main thing we bonded over and still do bond over is music. We were able to draw each other out with music because of its simplicity, but also its ability to convey complex emotion in an easy to understand way. I practically run back to my dorm once I've realized this and pull up my computer.

I search my playlists trying to find a song that would convey what I want to say to him. Eventually after searching in one of my oldest playlists, I find a song that I think fits. I change a couple words and find an instrumental track. I download the song to my phone and sit outside Draco's door like I usually do at the end of the day.

"Draco, I know you're in there. I realized today that you need friend right now. I don't want to pressure you or anything, but it's not going to help you by staying in there. I know your mother died and you're mourning her death, but I also know that mourning my parents brought a lot of memories back from during the war. I know you had a very hard time during the war, and you're probably having a very hard time reliving those memories. I just want you to know that I'll always be here for you. I also wanted to explain this to you in a simpler way so just keep listening for a little longer." My thoughts are kind of muddled right now, and I'm not sure if any of it made sense to him, but I hit the play button on the song anyway and listen to join in to the song Changing Tides by the Fray.

 _When the rain came_  
 _It washed us out to sea_  
 _I'm holding what I love_  
 _And he's holding on to me_

 _It's no surprise_  
 _It brought me to my knees_  
 _You're never really ready_  
 _You're ready as can be_

 _The sun was coming up_  
 _We were sifting through the sand_  
 _Looking for the pieces_  
 _Of our broken plans_

 _It's gonna take a while_  
 _We're gonna get it back_  
 _We gotta carry on darling_  
 _We were built to last_

As I sing this song I think back on all the moments this year that have furthered our relationship and convey all my hopes for the future of it. The first was definitely the train ride to Hogwarts. I remember looking into his eyes while he listened to muggle music for what I believe was the first time, and seeing such a childlike wonder in them. He was so captivated by all of the stuff that muggles had done, and he hadn't even scraped the top of the iceberg yet.

 _Changing tides_  
 _Baby that's the hardest part of life_  
 _Hold me tight_  
 _And we will move as one in the changing tides_

 _There's no doubt the beauty that we see_  
 _Following the path, so much older than we_  
 _Lovers built it with their hands, walked it with their feet_  
 _Above the raging waters and the darkness underneath_

The second time that our relationship was furthered was when I taught him how to use his chromebook and set up his gmail account. He was acting very calm and didn't try to be cocky like usual. He was like a completely different person. It was like he actually wanted to learn how to do it properly and as efficiently as possible. I had a lot of fun teaching him and I felt needed. After that, we worked very well together in muggle studies and he always got really good marks.

 _Changing tides_  
 _Baby that's the hardest part of life_  
 _Hold me tight_  
 _And we will move as one in the changing tides_  
 _And we will move as one in the changing tides_

 _When the rain came_  
 _It washed us out to sea_  
 _I'm holding what I love_  
 _And he's holding on to me_

 _It's gonna take a while_  
 _It's gonna come back_  
 _We gotta carry on darling_  
 _We were built to last_

One of the major things that furthered our relationship was the Halloween ball, and not just the ball, but the setup and planning of the event. It allowed us to learn more about how the other person thinks in terms of planning and style. I found out more about his eye for design and decorations due to his pureblood heritage, and he got to learn more about my creativity that I usually didn't show as it didn't have much to do with academics. Then the ball itself allowed us to discover even more about each other when we left after our performance. In fact, the performance also helped me feel even more connected with Draco as the song actually held personal meaning. That evening and the weeks leading up to it played a crucial part in where we are now.

 _Changing tides_  
 _Baby that's the hardest part of life_  
 _Hold me tight_  
 _And we will move as one in the changing tides_

 _Changing tides_  
 _And we will move as one in the changing_  
 _And we will move as one in the changing tides_

I finish off the song and stop the music as it ends. I sit quietly for a moment, and silently pray that he would come out. That he would have the strength to escape from the cage of his memories, or at least reach back out to me. After a couple moments I get up to leave and let him have his space, but before I can leave I hear the door open and a warm hand grasp my forearm.

"Wait, Hermione, don't leave yet." I turn to see him standing in his doorway, his hair all messy, his shirt ruffled, and his eyes red and bloodshot. His voice sounds kind of rough, probably from lack of use, but I don't dwell on this for long. As soon as I see him I engulf him in a huge hug. At first he seems too shocked to respond, but slowly wraps his arms around me as well. We stand there for what seems like ages, but was probably only few moments. We cling to each other like we were drowning and the other person was a piece of driftwood. We pull away and just look at each other. Then he nuzzles his face on my shoulder and starts to cry a little bit.

"I'm sorry Hermione for leaving you by yourself for the last few days. I actually got over my mother's death near the beginning but like you said, her death triggered a whole bunch of memories and nightmares. Stuff I haven't had to deal with since the summer and I guess I'd gotten used to the lack of that type of brain activity.

Thanks for sticking by and sending me the food and notes. It was really nice how you made sure I knew what happened everyday, I enjoyed listening to you so much. I'm sorry I drifted away from you, I should have realized that you would know what I'm going through. At some point do you think we could just talk about that stuff over the next few days?" I look at him a little funny and he looks afraid for a second.

"Draco, you don't have to be sorry about any of this. None of us asked to join a war, that has mentally and physically scarred many adults mind you, while we were kids. We've all been subjugated to so much pain, loss, and death. It shouldn't have happened to us, and none of us deserved it. Also, I don't know what you're going through as well as you think. Every war story is so different, and unique. We all went through most of the events, but we were all changed in different ways. That's why it's so important to hear all the stories in a war before making judgement. I'm just glad you came back to me Draco, I love you so much."

We talk for a while longer, then head to bed when we realize that it's almost 1 in the morning. We say good night, then retire to our rooms. I lay down, happy that one of my now best friends has finally come back to me.

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Author's Note: I may not be able to get the next chapter up for another 2 days depending on my schedule as I'm going away for a day and a half so don't panic or anything. Thanks for all of your support, I really appreciate feedback so please review. If you guys have any style requests e.g. poems, dream scenes, etc., either review or Private Message me and I'll try my best to incorporate it in. Have a great week, till next time.


	23. Fights, the Tower, & Waking Nightmares

Disclaimer: I do not own the Harry Potter franchise, nor anything affiliated with it. I also do not own any songs used in this fic, all rights to those songs belong to the artists, go support their work on Youtube, Spotify, or other music platforms.

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Draco's POV

I finally handed in my muggle studies essay on my connection with a song and a movie. I connected with a song called Drifting by Plumb because of its similarity to the song that Hermione sang at my door the other day. I found while checking out this thing on YouTube called 'Mixes'. I had been listening to Changing Tides by the Fray for awhile and this song appeared on the mix list for it. I found that it conveyed what Hermione was trying to say to me even better than the song she originally sang. The song she used was great, but this song is a lot more epic in my opinion, and filled with more emotion.

Anyway, I did the music component of the essay on that song and gave my reasons why. I was originally reluctant to write about such a revealing part of me, but I figured she said she wouldn't share the essay content with anyone without permission and it helped clear my feelings and understand them better. In the end, I had to cut out some of the sections for this as there was too much to read.

The movie I connected to was How To Train Your Dragon since the prejudice towards dragons reminded me of the prejudice in the wizarding world. It's become one of my favourite topics to explore and try to understand. I also thought that the topic would be an easy one and would appeal to Professor Carrington since the purpose of everyone taking the class was to reduce prejudice and division between purebloods, half-bloods, and muggleborns.

Over the last few days I was able to get permission from Headmistress McGonagall to leave a couple hours at a time to pack up certain things in the mansion and make arrangements for the house while no one is taking care of it. In the end I hired a house elf to take care of the house, key word being hired. Bipsy is an elf with a limp from being injured in the battle of Hogwarts, but she really wanted to get work afterwards and is very good at dealing with finances. I'm fairly good at them myself but I don't have the time to do them while at Hogwarts. She really knows her stuff and she's taking care of the bills and simple stuff while one of my uncles is in charge of the family business till I graduate.

She also cooks all my favourite foods wonderfully. Over the few days I spent organizing the house and teaching Bipsy all the stuff she needs to know, I've become very fond of her. It sounds really silly, but the house elves actually have a very complex honour system, so they say what they need to without frills. It made conversation very easy and simple. Whereas my relatives tend to speak in riddles so it's easier to stab you in the back.

I've been back in the swing of things for the last week or so, but I still haven't had much time to spend with Hermione. We've both had to deal with little fights or issues in the different Hogwarts houses and have spent much of our time writing incident reports or dealing with a sudden influx of homework. I've wanted to talk to her, but we keep missing each other.

It's funny, we finally cleared up the whole issue of my mother's death, my past memories, and Hermione pulled me out of my shell once again, but we're being pulled right into another whirlwind of chaos. It's like the world is doing everything in its power to keep us apart after drawing us together.

I'm walking to lunch after dropping my books in my classes and I hear someone walk up behind me. I turn around hoping to see Hermione, but instead I see Pansy. She stands behind me looking shocked, as if she was trying to muster the courage to say something but she wasn't done preparing herself to actually do it yet. After taking a few deep breaths, she opened her mouth and spoke.

"Hey Draco, how are you? I was wondering if we could talk at some point soon. I have some questions and I want to clear them up as soon as possible." At first I'm a bit shocked, but I make sure it doesn't show. I haven't talked to Pansy since sixth year. During seventh year I avoided most people, though most people just avoided me anyway. I always suspected that she had a crush on me, but I never really liked her. She was cute and all, but she was also really stuck-up and petty. She always got concerned on such trivial stuff and some of the stuff she did to appear like the perfect pureblood was disgusting. She's one of the few purebloods who haven't quite let their prejudices go yet and it's not doing her grades any favours.

"Um sure, Pansy. I can owl you about appropriate times that I can meet up, I have to check my calendar to see when I'm free." The words are out of my mouth before I can really think about it. I silently berate myself for agreeing to meet up with her. Maybe we'll both forget and it won't happen.

She let out a huge sigh of relief before responding. "Thank you so much Draco, it means a lot to me." Then she leaves me to go back to the hall and have lunch. I sit down in my usual seat with Blaise, Luna, Neville, and Ginny. I keep the disappointment off of my face when I see that Hermione isn't here, but I can't help but feel sad.

"Blaise, do you know where Hermione is?" I ask.

"No, I haven't seen her since muggle studies. I assumed she was with you." He replies without looking up from his food. I do see a hint of a smirk on his face though.

"Oh, well I haven't seen her since 2nd period ended. I didn't even pass her when I left to drop my books off in our rooms. I assume she has to write and file another report. Some of the stuff the kids in the younger grades do makes me feel disgusted.

Yesterday I had to stop a fight between two Gryffindors who were fighting because one of them had been harrassing the other's friend and made extremely rude and provocative comments. They were dealing some pretty nasty hexes and curses, and the girl who had been harassed was nearby and almost unconscious due to getting hit with a stray hex from the main offender. They all ended up having to take a trip to the hospital wing since it took a while to break up the fight safely. Some of the curses were bordering on Dark magic."

"That's awful, I can't believe someone would actually do that!" says Ginny

"Uh-huh, people can be disgusting sometimes. What's their punishment?" asks Neville. I agree with all of them. After understanding the issues I used to face when I was younger and realizing that a lot of the stuff I did was bad, I find it so much easier to see bullying around me. I can see how bad it is and how petty it is. It's just awful and I can't believe I actually did any of that stuff.

"Well the girl obviously has no punishment and her defender got off with just a 20 point deduction and a week of detention with the Headmistress. The main boy in trouble has got detention till the end of the year, expelled from the Quidditch team, 100 points have been taken from Gryffindor, he's to help Professor Snape gather potions materials from the Forbidden Forest, and he's been given patrol duty with Flich. I wanted to give him more punishments, but McGonagall said there wasn't much more we could do short of expulsion which she's hesitant about."

"People can be very cruel. However, punishment is not always the answer. The only thing that really works is making people understand. That's why the muggle studies class has worked so well. By understanding how muggles live, how they're human, and how they thrive, it's a lot harder to hate them just for being what they are. We can now appreciate what they are and their ways."

I look at Luna as she says this. She doesn't usually speak much so I'm a little surprised. Sometimes she can say really crazy things, but she also has very wise bits of information. When she says something meaningful, you had better listen. That's why I like hanging out with her, the other reason is her innocence. She still seems pure, even after the war and all the pain that's crippled almost everyone else. She's somehow managed to hold onto her childhood and I admire her so much for it. And even though she has her innocence, she has all the wisdom of a woman four times her age. I personally think that Luna didn't get into Ravenclaw for her intelligence, though she has that too contrary to popular belief, but for her emotional smarts and her wisdom. She knows exactly what to say to comfort people and help them keep going.

"Yeah, the kids in the younger generations have no idea what stuff like that can turn into. Of course they know about the war and it's almost definitely affected them, but they will never understand it the way we do. We've seen the horrors that this stuff can turn into and it's sickening to watch the same things happen now, that we did just a couple years ago." Blaise took the words right out of my mouth. The main thing going through my head when I caught the kid wasn't anger, it was shame. I was ashamed because if no one had helped me understand, I would probably be doing similar things. In fact I did many despicable things because of people's blood status. Stuff that I greatly regret now.

Even though I wish I never had to live through that bloody war, I'm glad that I did. If only for the fact that it's led me here. It's made me wake up and mature, made me wiser about the problems in the world. My generation has been gifted with the power to change it all, and understand exactly why we need to. We're at the age where we can start influencing Wizarding society in such a powerful way and it's completely justified. No one should have had to live through that war, especially kids, and we will do everything in our power to prevent such a thing from happening again.

We spend the next few minutes discussing the issue, but I find myself drifting from the conversation. I'm snapped out of my reverie when Luna taps my shoulder.

"Draco, you can leave if you want to. I know you want to go find her, you should go before lunch break finishes. Don't worry, I'll explain why you're leaving." I smile at her in thanks and gather my stuff before leaving the hall. I pass by a couple of Ravenclaws gossiping about how hot Neville is and I stifle a chuckle. It's funny, even though he wasn't very attractive in his earlier years, he's turned out to be quite the lady charmer complete with good looks. He was actually named Witch Weekly's 3rd most eligible bachelor from the 8th year generation, with Ron being 2nd and me being 1st. The only reason Potter wasn't on the list is because he's dating Ginny. However, the Prophet has caught wind that Ron is now single, though they don't know the specifics so they didn't have a lot of information. They still think I'm single and though I guess it's not entirely official, I still think of Hermione as my girlfriend. Many of the girls in the school were very disappointed after they saw me with Hermione during the Halloween ball.

I climb the stairs two steps at a time, careful not to slip and make sure that the stairs don't start moving before I get to my destination. I finally make it to the astronomy tower and find Hermione sitting on the edge of the tower on the ground and looking out the window. She has a navy blue cloak wrapped around her shoulders and a booklet of report slips in her hands. Next to her on the ground lies a plate of half eaten food and a glass of pumpkin juice. Her hair is blowing in such an ethereal way with the sun illuminating it in such a way that it seems like it's made of gold. She looks so peaceful, sitting looking out the window. I carefully walk over to her and sit down to let my legs dangle as well. She doesn't say anything when I do, instead she just rests her hand on top of mine on the floor.

I always feel nervous sitting here as it's so high off the ground, but then I remember the wards they placed so you can't actually fall. They placed those wards after someone attempted suicide by jumping off a number of years ago. One of the benefits is that you can actually sit here now and feel the cool air, but not have to worry about falling. The other reason I feel uneasy is that it reminds me of when I almost killed Dumbledore. It was fine the last two times I came up here with Hermione because I was so caught up in the moment and occupied by my thoughts about her to remember this. Now however, the memories are creeping back to me and I don't really know what to do.

I start to feel really cold as the scene around me changes. The golden light of the noon day sun is replaced by the dark clouds of that night. The warmth of the tower is replaced by the chills of death. The calm he felt around Hermione was replaced by the feeling of fear and regret. The stability of Hermione's hand on his was replaced by the trembling of his hand on his wand as it pointed at his headmaster. The sound of the birds and rustling of the trees were replaced by the sound of nothing, emptiness. I shudder as the memories of that night takes over my senses. Everything is changing around me and there's nothing I can do, just like there was nothing I could do that night but follow Voldemort's orders. The only difference between that night and now was the girl standing next to the headmaster. There next to Dumbledore was Hermione, her eyes filled with sadness and betrayal.

 _"How could you do this Draco? You promised me you changed! I comforted you so many times, but you're just like your father. Nothing but a failure, nothing but a slave to follow a master till your death. I can't believe I ever considered you my friend."_

At the back of my head I could hear a voice telling me that this wasn't real. That this was just a memory turned nightmare. That none of this was true. But the voice was too quiet and her words were like swords, slashing through my defences before I could realize what was happening. I started crying and pleading with her.

 _"Wait Hermione, what are you talking about? I haven't done anything. I swear I've changed, I would never hurt you. Please come back."_

 _"No Draco, you did hurt me. You hurt me like no one else, you might as well just kill me now before I suffer any longer at your hands."_

 _"Hermione why are you saying this? What's goi-" The rest of my sentence was cut short as at that moment Snape arrived. But instead of killing Dumbledore, Snape turned to Hermione and cast 'Sectumsempra'. She screamed and fell to the floor, a huge gash appearing on her torso like the one Potter gave me almost 2 years ago, but there was nothing I could do to stop any of it._

Then all of a sudden I'm pulled out of this nightmare back to the tower. I'm still standing where I was before, but my face is covered in sweat and Hermione has gotten up to come over to me with a look of concern on her face. Before I can open my mouth to tell her nothing happened she shushes me.

"I heard you come in but when I turned around you were just standing there really still and staring into space. You've been like that for less than 5 minutes in case you were wondering."

All I can do is just nod in acknowledgement. I'm too shaken by what I had just seen to really respond in any intelligible way. She looks at me for a few moments as I sit up and try to calm my breathing and wipe the sweat off of my face.

"Draco, did this have anything to do with what happened here last year?" Her words are carefully said, and I admire the fact that she says it in as gentle a way as possible. I nod, and she immediately gathers her stuff as well as mine and levitates them next to her as she comes over to hug me. She gets me to lean on her and we left promptly. She doesn't say anything else but helps me to our dorm and to my bedroom. She then leaves me with a few instructions.

"Look I know you probably want some quiet time right now, but if you need to talk to me while I'm in class just take this galleon, it has a Protean charm on it, and spell help on the side. I have one that will send the message to me and I'll leave to meet you here. I've already told the Headmistress that you're unwell right now and will have to miss classes. I recommend you take a shower seeing as how sleep is probably the last thing on your mind right now. There is some soup in the fridge, just heat it up in the microwave for about 2 minutes if you want it.

Um… well, I have to get to class now but don't hesitate to send me a message if you need to. Bye" With that she leaves me on my bed holding the galleon she gave me.

Once I hear Hermione leave the room, I get up and grab my towel before walking into the bathroom. I avoid looking in the mirror, because I'm scared to see what might stare back at me, but get undressed to take her advice of a shower. I go straight to the shower stall and focus on the water falling down my shoulders. The constant beating of the droplets allows me to forget everything that had happened that day; for a moment I just exist.

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Author's Note: It looks like I've hit a new record in terms of chapter length. Again I'm sorry I haven't updated in awhile. I was listening through some of my older music and I came across the song mentioned at the beginning of this chapter, Drifting by Plumb, and I was so sad that found it after I had written the chapter. I prefer it to the song that I used, but I couldn't exactly change it. Give it a listen, it's amazing. To repeat part of my note from chapter 20, I'm planning on adding another pairing in here that will also help to build Dramione a bit more, but I would like to hear your thoughts on it as well. The pairing will be Ron x Pansy, and I promise I have a really good idea to bring them in. Again thanks for all your support, but I would love to hear feedback from you guys as well. Have a great week, till next time.


	24. Passports, Airplanes, & a Love of Flight

Disclaimer: I don't own the Harry Potter franchise, nor anything afffiliated with it.

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Hermione's POV

It's only been a couple of days since that afternoon in the Astronomy tower, but Draco's moved past it very quickly. He's only missed that one afternoon of class and hasn't had any other 'episodes' since, at least that I know about. He looks as healthy as ever, but I can't help but feel worried about him. I know what it's like to relive old memories, I also know how easy it is to hide it all if you've had as much practise as him. He's spent his whole life hiding emotion and any signs of weakness just like I have. The only difference is that if his mask broke, he would have either been tortured or killed. That's one of the things I admire about him. Even though he had one of the worst lives ever, he never cracked and never let Voldemort win completely. He rebelled in small ways, ways that seem insignificant to an outsider but are mountainous to a person who understands.

I've gotten up earlier than usual this morning and I'm pretty much finished with getting ready. It's about 7:30, which is when I usually wake up, but Draco hasn't come down yet. I know he's awake since I heard him in the bathroom but he isn't in the common room like usual. I sit down and pull out my notes for our exams. Hogwarts was originally tri-semestered with exams at the end of the year, but McGonagall has been experimenting with different things this year so we've adopted the system of having four subjects for each of two semesters with exams at the end of each one. I focus back on my notes and re-highlight certain parts. When I study, I write really detailed notes. Then I go back and take notes on those notes to refine them. Then I'll create an overview test on my notes and test myself like that. That way I'm learning it a couple times, then applying it to an actual set of questions.

I look at the clock and see that it's been about 20 minutes. Draco and I usually leave for breakfast at 8, so I go up and knock on his door to see what's happening with him. After a couple minutes of banging on his door he answers it looking rather dishevelled. His hair is messy like Harry's was in his younger years, his shirt is slightly crumpled, and his tie is askew. Not to mention his eyes are bleary and he has bags under his eyes. With a yawn he starts to speak.

"Hermione what are you knocking on my door at…" He glances down at his watch to check the time and then practically jumps out of his skin. "Wait it's almost 8 already! But I got ready earlier, what happened?"

"You probably fell asleep after that. Draco, how much sleep have you been getting in the past few days? Actually what about the past couple of weeks?" He takes a little longer to answer because he has to count it up quickly.

"Well I go to bed around 11:30 and get up at 6, so 6.5 hours."

"Draco! You can't do that and not have any consequences. My only question is how you've gone so long without any visible changes in your outlook till now. Wait, is 11:30 when you go to bed or when you actually fall asleep."

"Hermione, you don't have to keep asking me questions. I already know I have insomnia and nothing I've tried has worked." His bluntness shocks me then I realize he's probably really tired so his brain is doing weird things, or as I have titled that kind of behaviour, sleep drunk. I'm kind of shocked that he knew where I was trying to lead the conversation. I tried use non-leading questions, but I guess he saw through my ruse. I've been worried about him having insomnia because the war and the psychological effect I know it had on his mind. I had insomnia as well for awhile, but it's settled for the time being. I've also had less nightmares and more regular dreams. Anyway, I know he's been having nightmares and I'm pretty sure it's more than he's had for the last while. I look at him in concern before addressing him again.

"You had better freshen up quickly, we need to get to breakfast soon if you don't want to be late for class." He nods then closes the door to get ready. I walk back down to the common room and pack up my notes. After placing them in my beaded purse I put my shoes on and wait by the door. Draco soon comes down after about 5 minutes and looks a lot better. He must have used a glamour charm because his skin looks a lot better and the bags are all gone. Thankfully we're only put off schedule by about 10 minutes so we still have enough time to eat and get to class.

When we reach the classroom, Professor Carrington calls us in and we take our seats like usual. I pull out my muggle studies folder from my purse as well as a pen. She stands up in front of the class and then addresses us.

"Today we're going to be doing something slightly different. Seeing as how the unit we're going to be starting today is transportation, I've arranged for us to floo down to muggle London and take a small airplane flight from Heathrow airport to Manchester airport. From there we'll floo back here. The trip will take all day, but I've already given your teachers a heads up and asked that they excuse from class.

The flight itself is only a hour, but we have to allow about 1 hour to get to the airport from Diagon Alley, an hour and a half to get through security, 1 hour for the flight, 1 hour for customs and immigration check on the other end, and another hour to travel to the floo point. If we have time I may let you all have some free time to explore the airport in Manchester. I have already planned ahead and gotten some travel sickness potions and calming draughts from Madame Pomfrey so that we all can go. Are there any questions?" She looks around but only one person has their hands raised. "Yes Ms. Parkinson?"

"You mean to tell me that we're going to be sitting in a metal shell shaped like a bird for an hour with muggles, sit in a bus with muggles, and go through a muggle infested building? I can't believe we have to put up with this!" Half the class stares at her incredulously. Most of the students at Hogwarts have been quite fascinated with Muggle stuff and have gotten over their prejudices but there are a few students who haven't. Like Pansy.

"Ms. Parkinson, your current attitude is exactly why this class is mandatory in the first place. You would do well to not be so prejudiced if you want to pass this class. Also, if you actually tried to do the work in this class and learnt what you were supposed to, you might find that muggles aren't so bad after all. Many of the things they have accomplished without magic is marvellous. There are some things even we can't do." Pansy just turns red before ignoring everyone. I feel bad for Ernie, he has to put up with all of her nonsense and try his best to teach her or he risks a low mark.

"Well if that's it, we have to prepare for the trip. There are some things you can bring, and some things you can't. Phones, earbuds, and other electronics are okay in fact I encourage you to bring them as you may get bored. I want everyone to pick two people to sit next to during the flight and one person to sit next to on the buses. You are responsible for making sure your buddy doesn't get lost.

We can't bring any sharp objects or liquids. You can bring a water bottle but you have to empty it before we get to security." A couple students look a little confused at the mention of security but they don't bother asking about it. "Make sure you bring a small bag with you to put loose articles in. I recommend you bring a notebook to take observations or notes. I will be asking you all to write a short writing piece on today's journey so try and pay attention. I will dismiss you all in a moment to pack or get something, but just remember nothing sharp or anything that can be used as a weapon, and keep your luggage to a minimum. I will provide lunch when we get to Manchester.

Alright you may leave now, I just need you all back here in about half an hour."

We're about to get up when she suddenly stops us again. With many sighs and groans of frustration, we sit down.

"I forgot to mention, we will need passports for the flight. For the muggleborns and half-bloods, I know many of you carry them with you in case of emergencies. For those of you who don't, I contacted your parents and had them owl them over. For the purebloods, I was able to secure some for you through McGonagall, please don't lose them as we may use them more throughout the year." She then hands out the passports and dismisses us.

We all quickly get up and leave to pack. I practically run up to my room because I'm really excited. Flying in an airplane for me is amazing. I love being up that high and I feel safer in a plane than on a broom. Much safer. I've always wanted to fly ever since I was a child but seeing as how I couldn't, I took the next best option, airplanes. Even though I have motion sickness, the feeling of being in the air and looking at the clouds is so wonderful. The view is simply amazing and it's really cool to see different places in the world.

Once I get to my room I grab my laptop from it's charging spot and put my binders and textbooks on my bookshelf after removing my exam notes. I root around my trunk to find my passport at the bottom in a very small pocket. I place my laptop, notebook, my passport, a book I bought a couple weeks ago, and my notes in my purse after removing the more sharp/weapon-like objects from my purse. When I put the extension charm on my purse I made sure that I also put a few charms on it that would make it look like a laptop bag to muggles, would hide any magical objects from sight, and that would make the x-ray appear as it did to muggles. It took me awhile to develop the charms, but it proved very handy for travelling and meant that I could use it all of the time. I quickly re-sling my purse over my shoulder and go knock on Draco's door to see if he's ready.

He answers the door and immediately asks if I could come in with him. I take a step in and see that his room is extremely neat. It seems like he's completely organized it since I last saw him. His bed is perfectly made, his bookshelf is organized by author in alphabetical order and then by height, and his desk has a stack of parchment in one corner and a pencil holder with the stationary perfectly placed. I can't help but stare at it in wonder. I've always tried to organize my room like this, but it's always failed. It will be fairly neat the first couple of days, then get steadily messier before the next re-organizing session.

"Hermione, what were we supposed to pack again and what were we not supposed to bring?" He asks.

"You need to bring something to occupy yourself with, something to take notes in, your passport, ideally a water bottle that you can empty before security and then fill up again later, I recommend bringing some muggle cash as well, and put it all in a relatively small bag that can fit any other small objects. A smaller bag will make security easier to get through.

He starts to gather his stuff together as I'm speaking and puts it all into his usual messenger bag. He puts his binder on his shelf and I notice that he has a shelf devoted school stuff like I do. The only difference is that he organizes his work by subject then year, whereas I sort it by year then subject. Once he's one, he slings his bag over his shoulder and we both leave together.

We get down to our classroom before most people and wait for the rest to arrive. I ask Draco if I can see his passport because I'm curious to know how they got them without going to the embassy in London. The passport photo is his school photo from the beginning of the year, that explains how they got a photo, and I guess they must have a program with the Ministry of Magic to do this kind of stuff for wizards who want to travel the muggle way. I examine his passport for a little while longer before handing it back. Once I do, he asks if he can see mine. I comply and rummage around for it in my purse before handing it over. He looks at it for a couple of minutes and compares it to his own. He then hands it back and we just sit in silence till everyone arrives. At that moment Professor Carrington gets up to speak.

"All right, are we missing anyone?" There are few chorused 'no's and shaking of heads. "In that case, if you could pick you pairs for the bus trips and the flights."

"Professor, didn't you say that we would be in groups of 3 for the flight?"

"Yes I did Hannah, but it turns out our tickets were booked for the window sections and those seats are in pairs. It makes it easier anyway in terms of groups because our class is easily separated into partners. Now, does everyone have their passports?" Again there is a chorus, but this time of 'yes's. "Okay if we have everyone and everyone has their passports we can move on now. We will taking the floo through Headmistress McGonagall's office to Diagon Alley where we will then take a chartered bus from there to Heathrow Airport. I'll fill you guys in on the trip details as we go along. I would also like to see Draco and Hermione once we get to the Headmistress's office." She says this as we leave the classroom and soon we are in the hallway. We all walk as a clump to McGonagall's office and climb up the stairs in single file as they are too narrow to do otherwise.

Once we get up the students travel one at a time and Professor Carrington pulls Draco and I aside to talk to us. "Alright, here is a physical copy of our itinerary for the trip with booking details. Make sure you don't lose this. As the Head's, you are the backup leaders for this trip if something goes wrong. I'm not of the opinion that it would, but it's just for safety/security reasons. Here is a flask of polyjuice potion and a couple of my hairs if you need to do something like a thumbprint for anything or you need to impersonate me at some point. Here is a copy of our boarding passes. Just remember that if something goes wrong, the safety of all these students are your priority. I have no doubt that you will both know what to do if it comes to that. Can I count on you guys for this?"

Draco and I both nod and take a set each of the items she's giving us and place them in our bags. We then walk over to the dwindling line of students to floo to Diagon Alley. I go first when it's time to go through, with Draco following closely behind me. We step out and join the group of students waiting for our teacher. Once she comes out we all walk as a group and find the bus on the muggle streets. Many of the purebloods shrink back due to the noise and chaos of the streets and cars. Some of them look really nervous, and to be honest I'm kind of skittish around cars so I don't blame them. We board the bus and though most of the students relax a bit, some of them are still a little nervous. Once we are seated Professor Carrington passes out potions to kids who need it for motion sickness, under the label of medicine since the bus driver is a muggle, and then we start moving.

Draco and I sit next to each other but don't talk much. I pull out my notes and study while he pulls out a sudoku book. After a little while I put in my earbuds and read. It's been about 45 minutes into our hour long journey when he speaks up.

"Hermione, how big are airplanes?"

"Well it depends on the size of the airplane. The one we are travelling on is an Airbus A320, which is about the length of about 2.75 large school busses. It's fairly small compared to some other planes, but still pretty big when you look at it. The largest airplane from the Airbus company is two times the size of the one we're going to be flying in today."

"Wow, that's pretty big. Have you ever flown on an airplane?"

"Yeah, I used to love flying on them when I was a kid. My parents often went to dentist conferences and I'd get to go with them. The last time I went on an airplane was about 4-5 years ago I think."

"Do you miss it? Being up in the air?"

"Of course. It's one of my biggest dreams to fly. To be up in the clouds looking down at the earth. I don't miss the motion sickness though, that was brutal. I wasn't able to swallow pills, so I had to have the liquid medicines instead. They are so bitter that it makes me want to throw up. I eventually got over the taste but it was still horrible."

"If you miss flying so much, why don't you ride brooms? In fact, I don't think I've seen you even touch a broom since our first class in first year."

"I like flying, but I don't feel safe on brooms. They feel unsteady to me and it doesn't seem safe to be sitting on a stick with barely anything to hold onto. If I was to fly, the perfect experience for me would be if I could have flight as a 'superpower'. I want to be able to just fly at the drop of a hat without the aid of an object. I wish there was a charm or spell for it. I've spent many hours researching it, but they haven't invented one yet."

"Wow, that's pretty cool. However, I'm sure that if anyone can find or create a spell like that, it would be you." I blush as he says this.

"Thanks Draco. You know I'm glad we've become friends, sorry, un-official girlfriend and boyfriend. I really like talking to you. We actually have pretty deep conversations, compared to when I used to talk to Harry and Ron. Wait, are we still girlfriend and boyfriend?" I kind of panic as I'm not sure if he wanted to take a break from it because of his mother's death or his nightmares. I hope I haven't offended him or anything.

"No, we're still girlfriend and boyfriend. Don't worry, nothing's changed." He looks like he's about to say something else, but we've reached our destination and Professor Carrington has called for our attention.

"Alright, now that we're here we have to check in. We are early but it will still be kind of busy. Follow closely and keep your 'quills' in your bags." I can tell she's referring to our wands, but I'm not sure everyone else does so I mouth 'wands' to the ones that look confused. They nod in acknowledgement and I sit back down. "We are going to check-in at section A-13 in Terminal 5. If you get lost, find a help desk and tell them that you are travelling with a group of students from Woodside High School and to make an announcement for Ms. Carrington."

With that, we step out of the bus onto the sidewalk drop off area. We all shield our eyes from the glaring reflection of the sun off of the glass windows of Terminal 5.

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Author's Note: Sorry for the longer wait, but I'm trying to make slightly longer chapters and the idea I had for this section needed more time to write. I'll probably have about 2 more chapters following this 'arc' of the storyline. The years have been shifted forward from their original timeline to accomadate the inclusion of muggle technology, however they chronology is still the same. I forgot to say this at the beginning of the story. I'm planning on adding a bit more action not too much, but just enough to spice it up a bit more. Thanks for reading and all of your support. Please review! Have a great week, till next time.


	25. Sleep Deprivation, Bombs, & Masks

Disclaimer: I do not own the Harry Potter franchise nor anything affiliated with it.

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Draco's POV

Draco's POV

We are lined up at the airport in the group check-in line, waiting for the staff to open up the counter. I'm pretty tired so my thoughts start to drift back to this morning.

This morning started off pretty rotten. I had another nightmare last night, and they haven't been going away. I've been getting very little sleep as of late, and it's never restful. Overall I probably only sleep about 4 hours every night, and it's quite light. My insomnia has come back just like it was in sixth year. Every night since that day on the astronomy tower, I've had nightmares constantly. It wasn't so bad after my mother died, but that must have started it. Anyway, I must have fallen asleep after I got changed and I went to get my phone from under my pillow. I was woken up for the second time, but this was by Hermione banging on my door. My first thought was 'why is she knocking on my door this early?'. I assumed that my alarm hadn't gone off yet, and that it must have been 5 something. Then she asked why I wasn't down yet and I saw that it was almost 8. I was two hours late!

I had panicked and splashed some water on my face before realizing just how terrible I looked. I had ridiculously pale skin, even for me, and my eyes had huge purple tinted bags. My eyes themselves were red and my hair looked really messy. I then quickly placed a glamour charm on myself to look less dead on the outside. After that I straightened out my shirt and stuffed my binder in my bag before running down to meet Hermione. We put our shoes on before walking, at a faster pace than usual, down to breakfast.

Class started off like usual and my mind had started to wander. Sometimes when teachers talk I find it very hard to concentrate. It's not their fault it's just that I know that they will be talking about school work, and that it will probably boring, so there is no need for me to pay attention. I'm pretty good at picking up what we're doing anyway so it hasn't been a problem yet. The other reason I lose focus is that when I'm really tired I have a hard time keeping my thoughts organized like usual. They just don't fit together and I lose each thought amongst a weird static feeling in my head.

This morning I was lost in thought about a song I was listening to last night. I was trying to remember how it went when I heard the teacher say something about an 'airplane'. I lifted my head up and tried to figure out what was going on. Hermione picked up on me daydreaming and not paying attention, so like usual, she passed me a small paper with a brief summary of what's happened so far. As I read it I started to feel kind of confused because I didn't know what most of the terminology meant. All I knew was that we were going on some sort of field trip to an 'airport' and then coming back.

I looked at her with a confused expression but she didn't notice so I quietly pulled out my textbook and tried to find out what these things were using the index. I quickly skimmed the text there and found out that airplanes are sort of like big metal birds that can hold a large amount of people and keep them in the air so they can travel, with the help of large engines. You can fly in one by purchasing a ticket and going to an airport. It didn't make complete sense, but I wasn't as confused as I was previously.

Professor Carrington then said something about 'passports' and I was passed a small burgundy book that said 'European Union - United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland Passport' and had a crest in the middle. I looked inside it and saw a photo of myself as well as details about me like my full name, date of birth, sex, nationality, date issued, and the expiry date of the passport. The page with all of those details was kind of hard and shiny, but the following pages were like regular blank paper.

All of a sudden everyone was getting up to leave and I felt really lost. Hermione seemed really excited so she left very quickly and darted out the door. I quickly scrambled to gather my stuff before sprinting out after her seeing as how I didn't know what was going on. I soon found her on our usual route to get to our dorms.

We finally got up to our room and she just ran up to her room and slammed the door shut. I heard her rustling around in there quite a bit, so I just walked into my room and sat down for a bit. Based on the note Hermione gave me, the passport, what I remembered from Professor Carrington's little speech, and what I read in the textbook, I gathered that we were going on some sort of trip. I highly doubted that we would be going for more than a day, so we probably just needed to bring a couple of small items. I realize that she probably had said a list, but I didn't catch that.

I was about to step out of my room and ask Hermione if she could tell me what I missed, when she knocked on my door. I walked over from my desk and opened it to see her standing at my door in more muggle looking clothes and her hair in a smarter ponytail as supposed to her usual bushy madness. I asked if she could come in and she did. She stared at my room for a little and almost seemed to be in awe. Eventually I got her attention again by asking what I was supposed to pack.

"You need to bring something to occupy yourself with, something to take notes in, your passport, ideally a water bottle that you can empty before security and then fill up again later, I recommend bringing some muggle cash as well, and put it all in a relatively small bag that can fit any other small objects. A smaller bag will make security easier to get through."

As she spoke, I had gathered my stuff and put it all in my messenger bag after pulling my binder out and placing it on my shelf. I double checked that I had everything and closed it up. After I finished that we walked into the halls and headed to our class again. On the way while Hermione walked in front of me, I decided to transfigure my clothes into more muggle looking attire seeing as how I knew we would be going to a muggle place.

I'm pulled back to the present when the line starts moving again. I'm standing next to Hermione in line and decide to look at the architecture of the area. There are windows everywhere including the ceiling and as a result, the area seems extremely bright. The whole place is so white and clean. There's a funny smell in here, like it's too clean. It has a synthetic smell that just reeks hospital and sickness to me. I try to take my mind off of that by observing the planes outside, in the opposite direction from where we came. They look so huge, and I find myself skeptical of the fact that they can actually make it off the ground, with people inside it as well.

As I think about all these things we move further through the line till we make it to the front and finally to the desk. The lady at the desk asks for all our passports to check with our faces and we all get through without a hitch. Once we are done we walk out to go down the main hallway by the entrance to go around to the main gates that will lead us to security. We are near the front doors that we walked through to get inside from the bus when all of a sudden there is a huge explosion outside.

The bus we were just in about 20 minutes ago, the bus that hadn't left after it dropped us off, was engulfed in an orange fireball as shrapnel flew everywhere. The surrounding cars also exploded and so did another couple of buses further down the terminal stretch. Security around us was thrown into a frenzy and people started yelling and screaming in panic. Half of our group started panicking or just had a glazed expression on their faces and I knew exactly why.

It wasn't because a bomb had just gone off, though that was one of the causes. It reminded them of the war. All the screams and panic were trying to pull me back there as well but I slammed those thoughts to the back of my mind as fast as possible. I tried to focus on my responsibilities, reminding myself that I had a job to protect my classmates and get us out of here alive.

Professor Carrington turned to Hermione and I with a look of fear as well as one of fierce determination.

"Hermione, Draco, remember what I said earlier. Take care of the students. I need to figure out what's going on and see if I can help. You guys can't help the way that I can, your wands will be too obvious and I don't want you all being investigated by security when they have so much to deal with. Now go and take care of them."

Hermione and I nod and hurriedly guide our fellow classmates to a back corner from where our check-in desk was. As we guide them there there is another explosion right where our professor ran off to, and a couple of other spots in the terminal itself. The heat of the blasts is so much more intense when we're right next to it. I cast a quick shield charm at the same time as Hermione to protect us and our classmates from debris. I have to fight back a cry of frustration and anger at possibly losing another person that I knew in such a violent way. I turn to Hermione and see my hurt and frustration mirrored in her eyes. With unspoken communication we turn back to our class with the goal of protecting all of them from this.

We get our classmates to the corner as quickly as possible before they can ask any questions. Working quickly together, we cast a disillusionment charm our classmates and set up some wards around them. We get the students to stay in there and cast a muffliato so they can't hear what's going on. Then we leave them with a portkey that will take them to Hogwarts in 1 minute, so that they'll get back there as soon as possible without the need for apparating or the floo network, with Neville in charge.

We are both thinking the same thing as we do all this. That we have to help everyone around us since we can, but we also have to protect our classmates. As we leave them and run back there is suddenly another wave of explosions. I grab Hermione and pull her down, using myself to shield her under me as pieces of glass rain down on us. I wait for the impact of the debris but nothing falls. I look up and see that Hermione's put up a shield charm. I thank her through my eyes and quickly help her up. We keep running and try to put out the fires as we go by them or at least prevent them from spreading by transfiguring the glass into sand to dampen the flames.

As we run I notice a couple of black robes and white masks and I start to slow down and freeze. No, not now. Not here. I start to feel panic rising inside of me but suddenly I feel a sharp sting on my cheek. I look around to see where it came from and see Hermione looking at me with a concerned expression as well as her hand raised from slapping me. I notice the small tendrils of fear creeping in her eyes and I'm sure that the same is true for my eyes as well.

"I'm sorry I slapped you, but we don't have time for either of us to panic right now. Before you say anything, I saw them too. You aren't crazy, there are Death Eaters here. They're probably responsible for this whole mess."

Her words shake me a bit when all of a sudden I hear a laugh coming from behind me, joined soon by another. The laughs of two people who have been in Azkaban and have gone crazy because of it. The laughs of two people who used to love torturing students. The laughs that used to haunt my dreams as well as my everyday life back in seventh year.

Hermione's words may have scared me, but those laughs chill me to the core and I feel my panic start to seep into my bones.

"Aw, how cute. Draco Malfoy associating and being comforted by a mudblood, even better, one of Harry Potter's accomplices. A member of the Golden Trio and the Order of the Phoenix!"

"I guess the rumours were true after all Amycus! The Malfoy's have gotten soft and have become blood traitors."

I snap my head around to see the ghastly grins of Alecto and Amycus Carrow.

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Author's Note: I hope y'all are okay with the turn I've taken with this bit. I just wanted to put in a bit more action before my next bit, also I really enjoyed writing this kind of stuff. Thanks for all your support, but please review. I would love to have some feedback or critisism, you can't get through life without it. Have a great week all of you, till next time!


	26. Determination, Distraction, & Adrenaline

Disclaimer: I do not own the Harry Potter franchise, nor anything affiliated with it.

Author's Note: **Warning! This chapter contains some minor graphic descriptions!** It may be a little violent, sorry. I'm a little too used to action so I'm not sure how most people view it.

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Hermione's POV

This was not supposed to happen. We weren't supposed to lose Professor Carrington, we weren't supposed to have to take charge, we weren't supposed to have to experience violence like this ever again, and we definitely weren't supposed to come face to face with Death Eaters. Not here, not now, and certainly not after everything we've already gone through. Yet here we are now, with carnage everywhere and the weight of the world being thrust upon us once again. Here we are, being thrown back into a battle when we thought we were done.

I feel bad for reprimanding Draco earlier. His almost panic attack was very much warranted and right now I feel right on the verge of my own. I struggle to press my jumbled thoughts down and keep my head above it all. The looks on the faces of Alecto and Amycus don't help me either. They leer at us and spew hate. They insult me and my heritage, my friends, and my family. They insult Draco and his choices, his mother and his cowardness.

I try to block it all out because their words hit too close to home but it's very hard. With a quick glance at Draco I see that he's feeling similarly torn up inside. His fear stirs up determination in me. I don't want to die today, I don't want him to die today, and if we do, I sure as hell ain't letting them do it without putting up a fight.

I switch my mindset from panic to planning. With a glance around I see that the rest of the Death Eaters are starting to crowd around us, but haven't quite reached us yet. All of them are dressed in their black robes, and everyone except for the twins wear their ghastly masks. However, there seem to be no muggles in our immediate vicinity and no one seems to see what's going on here. They must have put up some sort of muggle repelling charm to prevent them from seeing us. I guess it means that they can do what they want with us without fear of outside interference.

It also means that perhaps this was wasn't just a coincidence, but perhaps a deliberate attack on us as a class. Perhaps this was a deliberate attack on Draco or me or anyone who was involved in the war.

"Hey Amycus, what say we teach the blood traitor a lesson, huh? I'm sure he'll be begging for mercy after a dozen _crucios_. Maybe we can even have bit of fun with the mudblood. I'd love to hear her screams under the influence of some of our own special curses, no?" I fight to keep the fear off of my face and keep up a front of determination and strength. Years of practice allow me to do it with relative ease, but I'm not quite sure if it's entirely convincing.

"Wonderful idea Alecto, perhaps we should warm them up first with a couple of Severus's curses? I believe that he had one in particular, _Sectumsempra_ , that creates some very interesting results. Something about it having the effect of an invisible sword slicing across the recipient. There should be quite a lot of blood." I see Draco stiffen at the mention of that particular curse and I remember that Harry used that on him in sixth year. It was so horrifying that Harry felt guilt-ridden for weeks after that. I shudder at the thought of possibly seeing or experiencing it for myself.

While they debate what to do with us I realize that if we have any hope of getting out of here, we have to make a move, and we have to make it soon. I start to formulate a plan in my head by I still don't have a way to take down all the Death Eaters in an efficient way. I look around us to try and find something I can use. I could take any of the items or wreckage around us and use expulso at it to get it to explode, but I don't think that it'll have that much of an effect on all of them.

As I glance at the semi-complete circle, I notice a small silver canister that can only be one of the bombs they used underneath a nearby set of seats. From the look of it, I'd guess that it's a fuel air explosive, or FAE. It makes sense for the Death Eaters to choose it considering the size of the explosions and how barbaric the effects of it are. They are legal in warfare, but are cautioned against use for the sole reason that they cause unnecessary suffering. The thought of just how many people must be suffering right now because of them sickens me to the core and makes me want to fight even harder.

I turn to Draco and mouth 'cover me' to him. He doesn't nod or say anything, but acknowledges me with his eyes. He casts a quick _stupefy_ at the twins before sending combinations of _petrificus totalus, expelliarmus, incarcerous, impedimenta, relashio_ and _confundo_ to the other Death Eaters gathered. At the back of my mind I take note of how he only uses spells that will disable or incapacitate them and not really hurt them, but I'm too distracted to fully register it.

I then lunge between two Death Eaters and roll out of the way using a technique I picked up from Tonks during the Battle of Hogwarts. Draco continues to throw spells at the Death Eaters around us, but starts to add hexes to his flurry of wand movements and last minute dodges. With one last look at him, I scramble towards the bomb and reach under the seats for it. Once I have it in my possession, I cradle it in my arms. I then cast a patronus charm to send a message to Harry. It takes me a couple tries to calm down enough and focus on a happy memory, but my silver otter soon greets me. "Send the following message to Harry Potter: _Heathrow Airport, Death Eaters, bring help!_ " I command at it. As I watch my otter leave with the message, I turn back to the battle between the Death Eaters and Draco.

He seems to be holding his own, but they are slowly overpowering him. I cast a couple of stunners at the Death Eaters and a couple of them fall down. Some of them are starting to notice where I went and fire some curses at me. As fast as I can, I run back to the throng of people with the bomb and try to not get hit by anything. Draco notices me and I signal at him to run. He sees the bomb in my arms and sprints away after casting a sturdy shield charm around himself.

The Death Eaters all turn to look in my direction and I hurl the canister in their direction with all of my strength before any of them can react. As it sails through the air I cast a reducto to detonate it, followed by small shield charm to try and lessen the full effects of the the bomb. It still explodes in a huge fireball and sends many of the Death eaters flying. All of a sudden I feel what seems like a huge hand of fire smack me into the wall. My last thought is of Draco and my last emotion is a mix of worry and relief before everything fades into black.

* * *

Draco's POV

The twins are debating about how they might torture Hermione and I, but I can't bring myself to listen to them. That is, until they mention sectumsempra.

That curse has scared me since the day Scar-Head used it on me. When it hit me that day in the bathroom, it felt like a white hot sword had just sliced my whole torso open. It burned so much, even more than when Voldemort used to use the Cruciatus curse on me when my father failed him. Not only did the wound burn, but I felt like I was choking on my own blood. It was everywhere and started to pool around me. The wounds that the curse make are ridiculously deep. Most victims die of blood loss, but thankfully Snape was there to use the counterspell. The spell is not something to be trifled with and I feel very scared at the very mention of it.

I'm sure Hermione has noticed me tense up since she knows everything, but I hope that none of the Death Eaters have. If they notice the slightest sign of weakness, they will descend upon it like vultures. The Carrows keep talking and the rest of Death Eaters have pretty much all joined the group. I start to descend back into my panic mode but just as I'm about to let go, I see Hermione mouth 'cover me' out of the corner of my eye. I turn briefly and see the fire in her eyes. I can tell she isn't going down without a fight here, and her courage suddenly bolsters my own. I look back at her with a determined expression and cast stupefy at the twins before my mind can tell me not to.

As soon as I've cast the first spell, the rest comes naturally. I immerse myself in the calm nature of my battle mindset. I visualize my spell set and just keep rotating through them. I allow myself to see all of the movement around me by adjusting my vision to a slightly more blurry state and using my peripherals. I cast the spells and perform the arm movements like a dance. I dodge the spells with practised ease, the choreography of battle being like second nature. All of the practise from the Battle of Hogwarts and the raids we used to do as Death Eaters have allowed it all to be muscle memory. It's entirely different and so much easier than it was just 4 years ago when Voldemort first came back.

However just like these skills have come back so easily to me, so have they for the rest of the Death Eaters. Most of the wizards I'm facing now are some of the top dark wizards in history, and I'm just a child who had to grow up way too early. As I cast more and more spells, my arms become more sloppy and I start to mess up. Facing off against almost 12 fully trained adult Death Eaters tires you out faster than I expected.

I realize that the defensive spells I chose previously are no longer going to cut it, so I start introducing more hexes and curses. The whole time I keep track of all of them in my mind in a pattern so that I can fight on auto pilot.

While I'm fighting off the Death Eaters, my subconscious mind sees Hermione scrambling to get a silver canister from under some of the seats. It sees her cast a patronus to get help. It sees her try her best to ease my load by stupefying some of the Death Eaters on the fringe of the circle. Thankfully, my conscious mind picks up on her signalling for me to run away. I quickly cast a shield charm and run as fast as I can. As I start running I realize that she's obviously trying to throw the cylinder at them in the hopes of it getting rid of them. When she throws it I realize that it's going to explode and that it must be one of their bombs. When a spells makes contact with it and a fireball suddenly swirls around it, I realize that she isn't far away enough to not be affected by it. When I see her body start to fly I realize that even though I'm further away than her, I'm still not entirely safe.

The resounding shockwave that's expelled pushes me back into a pillar support. The glass around us all shatters, but thankfully none of it hits me. However some of the flying rubble from the nearby crater that the bomb created does. Most of it is just small shards that nick my skin, but one particularly large piece lands right on my leg. I hear an awful snapping sound and some crunching as well when it makes impact. I've probably broken it, but at least I'm still alive. Suddenly I remember that Hermione was even closer than me. With greater speed than you would think is possible, I stand up while grabbing my wand and hobble over to where Hermione's now somewhat broken body lies.

She lies in a pile of rubble next to the wall and some small fires. I carefully pull her out after moving the pieces of concrete around her. She must have hit the wall with a decent amount of force because the back of her head seems to oozing a lot of blood. There are millions of tiny cuts all over her and her clothes are all shredded. Her left leg and right arm seems to bent at really awkward angles and I suspect that they are probably broken. I carefully position her on her back like my mother taught me when I was younger in the case that someone was knocked unconscious. I guess since she'd wed a Death Eater it was a decent thing to be worried about. I check her pulse and feel a huge wave of relief when I feel the steady beating of it. I pull my wand out and start to heal the more basic cuts on her face and the skin that has been exposed.

I'm halfway through healing the minor cuts when I hear a voice holler through the terminal along with a handful of new voices. It makes me freeze what I'm doing and groan internally.

"Stop Malfoy, put your wand down and step away from her." I turn around in my awkwardly crouched position to see Ron Weasley with a very red, angry, and worried face. "What have you done to Hermione? I knew you couldn't be trusted! Did you tip the rest of your Death Eaters pals about today? Did you bring them here just to kill her and the rest of our class?"

As he screams at me I can't help but feel pity for the man-child standing in front of me now. He's so ignorant and stupid. He seems to care more about yelling at me and proving that he was right about me still being a Death Eater, than taking care of Hermione.

"As a matter of fact Weasel, I was trying to heal her seeing as how she's currently just alive. Now if you could go get someone more qualified at medical care than you or myself that would be wonderful. Actually, that's probably too much to ask of you in one go. I'll do it myself." Suddenly Weasel grabs my arm and twists it closer to him. I resist the urge to slap him for that. I hate it when people touch me without my consent or warning.

"You're not going anyway till I get a confession from you." He snarls at me. I'm about to deliver a very insulting retort when Potter suddenly appears next to me and starts telling Ron off.

"Ron you can't do that! Can't you tell he's injured as well? He's just barely standing. And he's probably one of only reasons the Death Eaters weren't busy torturing muggles when we walked in here." Ron turns even redder in the face at Harry's words.

"What are you talking about? He's a Death Eater! There's no way he would help the muggles. He probably did this to Hermione on purpose to get back at her." He yells accusingly and pointing at Hermione.

"Ron, I'm going to have to ask you to leave before you cause someone else harm right now. We have to deal with this mess as soon as possible, and as your supervisor right now I can't have anyone causing unnecessary trouble."

"You can't d-" He splutters before Potter cuts him off.

"I can and I will, do not make me suspend you from duty." To his credit, Weasel stops putting up a fight and with a grumble disapparates on the spot. I hope he's so angry that he splinches himself.

"Now Malfoy, what on earth happened here? I was just in my office taking care of paperwork when I got Hermione's patronus about being in Heathrow Airport and there being Death Eaters." I'm about to respond to him but my adrenaline rush from earlier has started to fade and all of a sudden pain explodes in the leg I broke as well as everywhere else in my body. With a cry I fall down and my vision starts to fade as I feel tiredness seeping into my veins.

At the edges of my vision I see Potter reach out in an attempt to stop my from falling.

"No, dammit Malfoy, don't do this to me!" But his words are for naught because my mind goes blank and I pass out.

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Author's Note: The bombs mentioned are real and are called FAE for short. If you want to see a short explanation of how they work, look up 'fuel air bombs' in google and take a look in images. There should be a blue diagram near the top. It's been awhile since I've done a split chapter, but I didn't think that I had enough content to post them seperately. Thanks for all the support guys, it's really appreciated. Please read and review! Have a great week, till next time.


	27. Falling, Bandages, & Circumstance

Disclaimer: I do not own the Harry Potter franchise, nor anything affiliated with it.

Author's Note: **Warning! This chapter contains some minor graphic desciptions, please be warned!** It may be a little too descriptive, sorry.

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Draco's POV

 _I'm in the airport again and I feel like I'm frozen in place. Hermione is in front of me surrounded by Death Eaters and she appears much more scared than when this actually happened. All of a sudden Alecto Carrow throws a Crucio at her. I try to scream at her to move, to push her out of the way, anything to prevent her from having to feel the pain of that curse again. No one deserves to endure that curse at all never mind twice. However there is nothing I can do but watch as she falls onto the floor and writhes in pain. Her screams echo in my head and the sight of her contorted body is burned into my mind. I feel more helpless than I did when she was in the Manor. My heart pangs at every scream she makes._

 _I tear my eyes away as I can't bear to look at her in so much pain anymore. Instead I look at the twins. Amycus just laughs at her while Alecto has a wild glint of happiness in his eyes as he contorts his face in a grin of some sort._

 _"This is your fault you know Draco. If you hadn't betrayed us, your second family really, we would have spared your little Hogwarts group today. But you did, you left us behind for your new mudblood girlfriend and blood traitor friends." Says Amycus._

 _Alecto stops the Cruciatus curse but just a quickly as he stopped it, he casts Sectumsempra at her. Her body thrashes once more as the cuts dig deep into her skin. I feel as if I've been hit instead of her and stumble backwards. Once I've caught my balance, I can't move once again. My eyes are drawn to the blood the pools around her broken and sweating body. By now she's already passed out from the combination of extreme pain and blood loss. The Death Eaters around her jeer and hurl insults at the almost lifeless body of the girl I love, and I can't help but feel so broken inside._

I suddenly wake up with a start, breathing heavily and feeling really hot. I open my eyes and I'm greeted by the harsh white lights of the hospital wing in Hogwarts. I attempt to sit up but I feel a hand push my shoulder back down.

"Don't try and sit up yet Malfoy, Madame Pomfrey needs to check you over first and your body needs a couple moments to adjust. I still need to ask you about the incident at airport so you can't hurt yourself too much yet." The voice sounds weird and I can't quite place it at first. Then I blink a few times to let my eyes adjust and I see Potter staring down at me. His hand is on my shoulder and I realize that he's the one who pushed me down.

I look around the room and see that I'm in one of beds in the back corner. Lying in a bed adjacent to mine is a still unconscious Hermione. Ignoring Potter's words I sit up and lean against the pillows behind my back. I look at Hermione and see that there is a thick bandage around her head as well as a cast on her left leg and around her right forearm. The crisp white blanket is pulled up to her shoulders and the arm with the cast has been carefully place on top of the sheet and her stomach. Her chest rises slowly but steadily and I breath in a sigh of relief. As I watch her, all I want to do is walk over and lie down next to her and cradle her broken body.

"Malfoy, don't even think about getting up. You have to let your leg heal." Potter says. For the first time, I look down at my own body and see that my leg is also in a cast. I try to move it a little bit, but a jolt of pain runs up my leg when I do. I wince in pain and catch Potter making an 'I told you so' expression at the corner of my vision. With a sigh of defeat I leave it alone and focus on moving my arms a bit first.

I lift both my arms and cross them over my chest keeping them as straight as possible. My shoulders are a little sore, but other than that I don't really have any issues with them. I quickly crack all of the joints in my fingers to relieve the pressure that's built up in them for the last while. My last thought makes me stop and realize I don't actually know how long it's been since I passed out at the airport. I turn back to Potter and ask him.

"It's been about two days since that incident. We were worried at first when you didn't wake up after the first day as your injuries weren't very severe, but then Blaise informed us that you have insomnia. I assume that your body was just recovering from all the sleep you've probably lost over the last while. We're still waiting on Hermione though. Her injuries were a lot more severe. Her skull was cracked up and her ribs were fractured. Some of her skin is covered in second degree burns from the fireball that was created from the bomb. Of course her arm and leg were broken, but they weren't as severe. She definitely has a concussion and we're unsure of when she might wake up."

Hearing Potter rattle of her prognosis is kind of scary. He says it calmly, with practised ease, but I can hear the undercurrent of fear and worry in his voice.

I can tells he's very scared that he might lose her. Hell, I'm scared that I'll lose her. She's probably the only reason I'm not the selfish, bigoted prat I was for most of my life. I can still be that twat, but I've matured and she's been rubbing off on me. I no longer hold onto the values I learned in my early years of life. I no longer treat people like they are worse than scum, at least most people. I try my best to treat the people I meet with respect. She has given me a new perspective on life but more importantly she has become the only thing I never had, someone who cares about me. She's my friend, my girlfriend, my love, my heart, my brokenness, and my rock. And it's because she's worth so much to me that I can't bear to lose her.

All of a sudden Potter gets up after his wand starts to vibrate and make a quiet beeping noise.

"Malfoy, I'm so sorry but I have to go now. There's an emergency in Diagon Alley about some purebloods protesting the arrest of the Death Eaters who just barely survived the explosion. It wouldn't be a problem but they're starting to attack some of the muggleborns there. I should be back by tonight. By the way, all your personal items that were on you at the time in your messenger bag are still in your bag by the nightstand. Bye!" He's out and finished talking by the time I can process what he said. I'm surprised by the abruptness of his exit but I feel annoyed that it took my that long to realize what was happening.

Now that he's gone I feel like I can do more stuff and not get in trouble. I lift my left leg up and bring it closer to me. I then stretch it as carefully as possible with one goal in my mind right now; to be able to get over to Hermione so I can hold her hand and reassure myself that she's still here and fighting. Once I think that my leg has fully woken up I move on to the more challenging part, my right leg. It's covered in a cast up to just under my knee. I bend my knee and drag it up to my chest with my other leg and examine the cast. It appears to be made of plaster like the muggle ones I've seen before. It feels really hard and solid, but also kind of bumpy and brittle. I try to wiggle my toes but they don't move very much. I then try and swing my leg over the edge of the bed and stand up. There's a stabbing pain in my leg but I push past that. As soon as I let go of the bedpost I feel kind of dizzy and disoriented and promptly fall over and onto my face.

I hear shuffling to my left followed by a giggle then full blown laugh and look up to see Hermione still lying on her pillow with a huge smile on her face. At first I feel embarrassed, then angry, relieved, and happy at the same time. She doesn't stop laughing and after looking at the situation more carefully I start laugh with her. Somehow the absurdity of the situation is just too much for me to feel the pain in my leg for a little while. I got up in the hopes that I could comfort her and maybe wake her up. In the end I did just that, but in a much more embarrassing way than I thought would happen. And that's how Madame Pomfrey found the two of us. Hermione laughing her heart out propped up by her pillows, and me sprawled on the floor and laughing and kind of wheezing right along with her.

"Mr. Malfoy! What on earth are you doing on the floor and why are the two of you laughing?! Oh Ms. Granger, I'm so glad that you're awake. We were getting very worried about when you were going to wake up."

After taking a couple deep breath and hiccoughing a couple times she responds for us. "It's alright Madame Pomfrey, I'm awake now and that's all that matters. The reason we're laughing is that Draco tried to get up and walk over to me and then fell right on his face. I had just started to wake up when he fell and that woke me up very quickly. It was hilarious because he looked so determined and confident as well."

I guess Hermione hasn't quite woken up fully because her response sounds way too serious for what she actually said. I can't believe she just told Madam Pomfrey all of that. Now she's going to kill Hermione and I, or maybe just me.

Madame Pomfrey clicks her tongue in disapproving way but I can see a hint of a smile grace her features as she bustles around collecting potions for us and some other medical supplies. She quickly comes back to us with an armful of bandages, a box of plasters, different dressings, a dozen different potions, and two metal cups.

"Now Mr. Malfoy, I have to redress Ms. Granger's head wound and I don't want you to hurt yourself even more so just sit there on the floor and don't try to stand up again. I also need to discuss something with you in private when I'm done here."

She then goes over to Hermione and starts to undo the bandage on her head. I watch with a sort of morbid curiosity. There is a small patch at the back of her head where they shaved her hair to heal the cut that lies there. It's a very thin but long cut. The skin around it is very pale, but the skin is around the perimeter is bright red. There is a lot of blood on the soiled bandage however and there is already blood pooling on her scalp. The cut must be very deep then. I feel bad for Hermione as she winces while Madame Pomfrey applies the dressing and re-wraps a new bandage on her head. She then re-dresses the burns on Hermione's arms. Madame Pomfrey then turns back to the bedside table and grabs some potions

She pours an ugly green one into one of the cups and hands it to Hermione to drink. She pulls a face but quickly swallows it. I sit quietly on the floor watching as Madame Pomfrey does a basic check-up and evaluation on Hermione. Soon she finishes and turns to me.

"Now what am I supposed to do with you? I can't really let you stay on the floor, but I don't really want to risk moving you. Oh well, I might as well just do this quickly with minimal fuss. Alright Malfoy, grab my arm and I'm going to help you up onto the bed okay?"

I nod at her and on the count of three I'm soon on my bed again. She lets me re-adjust myself and the pillows before doing a basic check-up on me. Once she finishes she turns to me and asks me a question.

"Mr. Malfoy, I have to talk to you about something very important for your health. Do you want to make this a private conversation or let Ms. Granger listen as well?" I think for a second about her words and reason that it couldn't possibly be that bad.

"I think it'll be okay for Hermione to listen as well."

"Okay in that case I'll get down to business. During the fiasco at the airport you weren't too close to the bomb and as a result your visible injuries are minimal. However when you passed out when the pain kicked in it wasn't just because your adrenaline levels dropped. The type of bomb used was a fuel air explosive as I'm sure you know Ms. Granger. The bomb works by dispersing a thick cloud of gas. A charge is then detonated that will ignite the gas. If you are caught in the blast itself you will be incinerated. What happens next is a vacuum is created due to the need to feed the explosion. This causes most people's lungs to rupture. If you are close to the bomb but aren't quite inside the explosion, most people will be harmed from breathing in the toxic gases inside the first charge of gas.

Thankfully Ms. Granger cast a shield charm on the bomb as it exploded so most of the gas was contained as well as part of the explosion. However, some of the gas did escape and you happened to be close to one of the areas where the spell was a bit patchy. As such, your lungs are in a very fragile state right now and you can't do much physical activity without aggravating them. I'm surprised you were able to laugh earlier without too much pain. I'm afraid that isn't the only thing that's afflicting you though.

When you were talking with Mr. Potter and you passed out, it was partly because of your damaged lungs and the sudden rush of pain. It was also because of a curse. One of the Death Eaters that died didn't do so till he had some revenge. He was further away from the blast and wasn't affected as badly as perhaps, the Carrows. Just before he died, he sent a very Dark curse towards you that would slowly deteriorate the joints in your body. The jinx only grazed your legs so it won't affect your upper body. Since it was poorly aimed as well as poorly cast, it shouldn't have too much of an effect on you and shouldn't progress very much.

Since it was a Dark curse, we can't treat it magically otherwise it will just cause the effects to be worsened. As such, you will have to wear 'braces' on your knees and ankles as well as undergo some physical therapy to heal them or at least strengthen them.

If you have any questions don't hesitate to ask me. In the meantime, you both will have to stay here a couple extra days before I can let you go. I will get you fitted for some braces and send your teachers a message excusing you from physical activity. You are both excused from class work till I let you leave. Also, I've left a sheet of instructions with the potions on when, how, and who is to take them. I have to go now for a staff meeting but I will be back in the next hour or so. If you require help from myself of a staff member just send a Patronus, I know you Ms. Granger are capable of that."

She then leaves and rushes out of the hospital wing leaving the two of us sitting there in slight shock. I turn to look at Hermione and see my worry reflected in her eyes. All I know is that my life just got about two times harder than I thought it would be.

"Well that was interesting." I say in a kind of joking manner. Hermione doesn't seem amused by this though and just looks very pensive. I realize that she's probably feeling guilty about this.

"Hermione just so you know, there was nothing you could have done differently that would be any better. It's not your fault that the shield charm didn't hold. I'm just glad we aren't being tortured by Death Eaters or dead right now." Then I reach over between the gap in the bed and hold her hand in a reassuring way. "I'll be fine, I have you to help don't I?" She justs nods, but I'm pretty sure that my words have their intended effect.

All of a sudden I feel tired again so I lean back on my pillows and close my eyes, still holding Hermione's hand.

* * *

Author's Note: For y'all who don't know, plasters are basically band-aids. I'm not sure if you guys noticed, but I switched the rating to T as it got a bit more violent than I expected. I don't know how old all of y'all are so I wanted to play it safe. Wow this fic is going all over the place. I'm sorry if it seems like I'm jumping all over the place. If you want more info on the bombs I've used you can also look them up under Thermobaric Weapons on Wikipedia. Thanks for all the support and reviews, I really appreciate the feedback. Have a great week, till next time.


	28. Sudoku, Music, & Unofficial Therapists

Disclaimer: I do not own the Harry Potter franchise, nor anything affiliated with it.

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Hermione's POV

We've been in the hospital wing for about 4 days since we woke up, and Draco and I are both extremely restless. Draco more so than me seeing as how I'm actually allowed out of bed. Every time I look at him I can't help but feel guilty. It was because of me that he's in this predicament. Yes the only other options besides the bomb were death or torture, but I still feel guilty and there is nothing that he can say that will make me feel any different.

There hasn't been much for us to do since we have no homework and Madame Pomfrey doesn't like us to use our computers too often. She says that it rots your brain and damages your eyes, but I don't think anyone cares about that stuff. It keeps us occupied and prevents us from brooding on the memories and experiences that haunt our generation. So far the only things I've really done are finish off the two books that I had in my beaded purse at the time and listen to every single song that I have downloaded on my phone twice which amounts to about 550 songs.

I find it kind of funny how much music I listen to. I had time so I calculated how much time I spent listening to music. 550 songs is equal to about 2475 minutes if we assume that the average length of the songs are 4 and a half minutes long. That in turn is equal to 41 hours and 15 minutes. Almost half of the time I've spent in this infuriating hospital wing was listening music.

Although our friends have come to visit, none of them have been able to stay very long. Ginny, Luna, and Blaise haven't really had much time to stop by, and Harry has been kept very busy dealing with protests and filling in paperwork for it. However from them I was able to learn a lot about what's happened since we sent the rest of our class back to Hogwarts. And while the others didn't have much time, Neville has had more time than them. I remember one conversation in particular that I had with him.

 _"Hi Neville!" I say to him in a bit of a whisper as he walks to back of the Hospital Wing to see us. Draco's asleep right now as he's tired from his latest session of physiotherapy._

 _"Hey Hermione, how are you doing?" He asks in a polite manner, mirroring my volume level._

 _"I'm fine, how is the rest of the class doing? Did the portkey work?" I ask since no one has given me any information as to how the rest of the class has been. I'm worried that some of them haven't been doing very well because of how the incident at the airport might trigger their own mental and emotional problems._

 _"Most of the class hasn't reacted too badly to what happened but some of the kids had to take up McGonagall's offer for therapy sessions. They managed to get a therapist from St. Mungo's to help them. I think the main problem for most of the class is the fact that Professor Carrington is dead. It's really sad and the wizarding world is in a bit of an uproar about the whole situation. Most of the parents are worried about whether or not this will lead to another war, and if they might need to pull their kids out again if things get worse." I nod throughout his tirade and examine his body language. He seems more tired and just drained more than anything, another sign of the weight thrust upon kids our age._

 _"Yeah, well that's pretty much it in terms of news about the rest of us. How are you and Draco doing here? Has the food been okay? When are you guys being released?"_

 _"It's been okay here. Not the best, but what can you do? The food's been the same as usual, I think it's the same food as the main hall which is great. Most hospital food is horrible, at least it is in the muggle world. We should be released in about three days or so."_

 _"Wow that's good, I'll tell the others then when I see them." He replies._

 _"Neville, has class been cancelled for Muggle Studies or do we have a substitute professor?"_

 _"Well the first day after the incident we had a small meeting with McGonagall about the therapy stuff and answered questions about what happened to help the Aurors. Then after that we've had free periods in place of class. However, McGonagall is looking for another person to fill the position because we all agree that the class has done the school a lot of good."_

 _"That's good. I'm glad they aren't cancelling it, it was a lot of fun. I just hope she can find a good teacher who will be just as enthusiastic about the subject as Professor Carrington."_

 _He nods in agreement before checking his watch and sighing. "I'm sorry to cut this short, but I should probably leave soon before I'm late for third period. Bye Hermione, get better soon!"_

 _"Bye Neville!" I call out as he hurries out of the room. I glance back at Draco and place my earbuds back into my ears, continuing to listen to music like earlier._

It's sad how little I've done here. Draco hasn't done much more than me, though he's had to a bit more stuff related to the condition of his health. So far he's tried on some knee and ankle braces to find which ones fit the best and are most comfortable. He's also had to learn some breathing tricks and exercises to breathe in as much oxygen without exerting his lungs too much. In addition to that, he's had to start some physiotherapy lessons to help strengthen his ankles.

It was kind of sad to watch those as I saw just how much he's been affected by the curse. He can't really stand up and needs to use crutches in addition to the braces for the next month or so. It doesn't help either that the rubble from the blast crushed the bone in his right leg. It turns out that they couldn't use Skele-Gro to heal his leg as the curse is interfering with it. I thought Dark curses just blocked counterspells or similar tricks, I forgot that potions also trigger the same results. Draco tries not to let the pain show on his face, but I've gotten very good at reading the emotions in his eyes and body language.

It's just a couple more hours before we can go back to our dorm room and do what we want. I know Draco is dying to be out of this place. He can barely sit still even though it pains him to move much. I can't wait to be out since my casts have finally been removed. I was able to use Skele-Gro to heal my wounds, but my head wound will take a little longer to heal. I'm eager to get out and rush through the halls of Hogwarts again. Even if I have to walk much slower to accompany Draco, at least I'll be out and breathing the fresher air. The Hospital wing has always seemed a bit stuffy to me and it smells too clean.

I pull out my purse and check that I have everything before pulling out my earbuds and phone to listen to more music and calm my nerves. I really want to get out, but I'm also nervous about going back to normal life after the shock of the airport. The last time I had to deal with this much action and fallout, I had the summer to hide myself and rebuild my walls. I could hide from everyone and come out when I felt strong enough to. Now I can't do that, I have to go back to school and pretend that nothing's happened. I have to pretend that everything's normal when there are hundreds of subtle reminders everywhere that it isn't.

I play one of my more calming playlists but it does very little to ease the tension that's built up in my body. Eventually I give up and put my phone away. I start to tap on the side table when I hear Draco's voice speak up.

"If you're nervous why don't you try a Sudoku puzzle? I find that it calms me down and makes me focus just on the numbers. I have a spare book you can use." I look up and see him perched on the edge of his bed holding a small sudoku book out towards me. I quickly reach over and take it so he isn't in such a precarious position for too long.

"Do you know how to do them?" He asks me.

"Mostly, it's just using logic to place the numbers from 1-9 right? You just have to make sure that the same number can't appear more than once in a row, column, or box."

"Yeah that's pretty much it. Give it go. I'm pretty sure it won't be too stressful for you seeing as how you're very logical." I open the book and pull out a pencil to start working on it.

The beginning is really easy, but I soon get stuck with only 15 boxes left. I carefully write out every single possibility for each box, but it still takes me another 10 minutes to finish it off completely. I put my pencil down and see that Draco is massaging little circles on his left ankle. When he notices me looking he stops what he's doing, quickly puts his leg down, and asks me how the puzzle was.

"The puzzle was pretty fun. I actually feel way calmer now." He smiles a little and then speaks.

"You can keep that one, I have another 20 odd books in my room." He then pauses. "What time can we leave again? I remember Madame Pomfrey saying the time, but I forgot to make a note of it."

"We can leave at 11:30 after a quick check up. That way we'll be just in time for lunch." I say.

"Okay, so about another half hour then." He says.

"Yeah she should be here in a couple minutes to do the check up and provide you with the necessary potions and directions for when to have them and how much."

He nods then pulls out his journal. He quickly scribbles something down in there before packing up a couple small items into his bag. His bag looks pretty full so I ask him a question.

"Have you thought about putting an undetectable extension charm on it?" He looks up and seems confused for a moment then realizes what I'm talking about.

"No not really, I kind of like it the way it is because it allows me to train my brain to pack a lot of stuff into a small amount of space. When I really can't fit stuff in, I just shrink the objects down and put them in a small container so they don't get lost."

"Okay then. Hmm... have you ever played Tetris before?"

"No, I don't think so. What is it? I assume it's a muggle thing?"

"It's an app where there are bunch of pieces that have certain shape. You can rotate the shape 90°, 180°, 270°, and back again. You can drag them as they fall to fit them together. You clear lines by having a full line of pieces. I'll show you the app when we're released from here. I think you'll like it quite a lot, but be warned it is a lot more stressful than Sudoku because the pieces fall and they get faster."

"Cool, I'll make a note of it."

We sit quietly for another couple of minutes when Madame Pomfrey comes in. She's holding a small canvas pouch and some extra bits and bobs.

"Hello you two, finally getting out of here now aren't you? Well I just have to do a quick assessment of you guys before you can go." We both nod and she keeps going. She turns to me before giving me some directions.

"Ms. Granger, just follow my finger. Good, now just look at the light. Okay, now I just have to check the cut on the back of your head." She pulls the bandage away for what I hope is the last time and examines the skin there. "Good news, the skin has completely healed, but there will always be a thin red line there from scarring."

She then moves on to Draco once she's done with me. "Mr. Malfoy, you are free to go back to your school life once I'm done with you here, but don't hesitate to come back if you have any problems or questions. Remember that your physiotherapy sessions will be held in your common room every Tuesday and Thursday evening from 6:30-7:00 for the next few weeks. These are the potions you will need to take over the next few months. They will replenish themselves every night so you don't have to come and get a new batch every week. I have sent an extra set of braces to your dorm in case the ones you have now get lost or break. You have your crutches right?"

"Yes I do, they're behind the bed so they don't get in the way."

"Excellent, you two are free to go now. Good luck in class, I hope you get better soon Mr. Malfoy." With that she leaves the two of us to leave and head to the Great Hall. I quickly get off of the bed and help Draco get the crutches from behind the bed and position them. He wears the braces almost all the time so that it'll be easier to get up. His cast is still on, but he should be getting it off within the next two weeks. I'm about to take his bag for him when he says it's okay.

"You don't have to take my bag, I can carry it. It's easier for me to get something from it if it's on my person anyway." He blushes a bit from embarrassment.

"Okay sure. Just so we're clear, I'm not trying to insult your strength, I'm just trying to help."

"Okay." He says.

We get up together and I walk beside him as he struggles out of the hospital wing and down the hallway. We stop by our dorm to drop off our less important belongings. Once I help him set his stuff down we slowly make our way down to the Great Hall. I walk in front of him on the stairs to make sure he doesn't fall down. We soon arrive in the Great Hall and join our group of friends for the first meal we've had together in about a week.

"Hi guys!" I say as we sit down in our spots. I'm careful to make sure that Draco has sat down properly before sitting down myself. He leans his crutches against the tables and then places his bag between his feet. He soon helps himself to a large helping of pasta salad since the portions in the hospital wing are a little small. He devours it very quickly and soon grabs seconds.

"Hi Hermione, hi Draco." says Luna. She has a very thoughtful expression on her face today and I wonder what she's thinking about.

"Hey Luna. How has school been so far for the rest of you guys anyway?" I ask. Although I've heard Neville's side of things, I'm curious to know what else they've been doing and how each of them are coping.

"Well, Luna her has been acting as a junior therapist assistant to the lady they've brought in from St. Mungo's, and frankly Luna's been getting a much better result from most of the kids. She really knows how to make people feel better and get them to loosen up about their problems. It's also nice knowing that she's there are a friend as supposed to being forced to come here because that's where the work is. The therapist lady tries to make it all scientific but it doesn't help at all and just makes us confused." Says Blaise. I feel kind of awed by what he says. I'm very glad that Luna's helped so much with this.

"Yeah Luna's been great." I hear Ginny says. "I heard through some of my new friends in Slytherin that a lot of them have felt a lot better after talking to her about this and the war. They've finally found someone who won't judge them based on their past actions and experiences, but will instead help them become better people and listen with the intention of helping them. She's really easy to talk to and she just has a very calm air about her."

The rest of the meal is spent discussing the therapy sessions and how talking to a student is much better than talking to a person who was trained for the job. Draco spends most of his time eating and I just listen to everything that they talk about. Soon the early warning bell rings and Draco and I carefully walk up to our dorm to relax for one more half day before going back to regular classes.

* * *

Author's Note: Thank you all for reading my work. I'm probably going to have couple more filler chapters before the next big thing, but hopefully we'll be able to further the plot even further to my end goal. Thanks for all the support y'all are giving me, but please review! I love hearing feedback and comments. On another note, Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald is coming out November 16th 2018! To find more details check out Pottermore, I'll leave a link to it in my author profile for you guys. Have a great week, till next time!


	29. Late Wanderings, Pastries, & Patterns

Disclaimer: I do not own the Harry Potter franchise, nor anything affiliated with it.

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Draco's POV

As soon as Madam Pomfrey dismissed us from the hospital wing I got my stuff together as quickly as I could in my weakened state. Funnily enough, I don't feel like I'm going to die or anything. I don't feel too much pain from all of the stuff affecting me right now, I just feel annoyed that it's preventing me from being efficient. I hate being seen as weak and incapable. I just want to get all of this over with. I couldn't care less about what happens to me, but now Hermione has to help me get to class and I have a lot of trouble doing really simple things like getting across the room.

We exit the hospital wing as soon as possible and go back to our dorm. It takes us awhile to get up there because I'm not used to using crutches for extended periods of time and I haven't tried using the stairs yet. My knees hurt the worst especially when I bend and then stretch them. It feels like I'm pulling the muscles apart when I do so and it just feels weak.

The most annoying thing though is the stab of dull pain in my legs whenever I take a step and the feeling that I'm going to collapse at any given time. It's very consistent and is just a reminder that I probably will never be able to walk with the ease I used to have. Putting pressure on my legs is a matter of balancing my weight properly and I have to rely on my arms for a lot of support. The leg cast really doesn't help either because now my weight it uneven.

Because all of this so difficult, I can only take the stairs one at a time and not two at a time like I used to do. Hermione is very patient with me the whole time and talks to keep my mind off what I'm doing for a bit. I notice she stands a little bit in front of me when we go down the stairs and a little behind me when we go up, presumably in case I fall.

We finally get to our room and she says the password to let us in. Once we get inside I walk up the stairs to my bedroom and sit on my bed. I carefully remove my laptop, a couple of my sudoku books, and a couple of other things that were in there just for the airplane trip. When I've finished emptying the less important things from my bag, I slowly get back up again and head back down to wait for Hermione.

Another thing that bothers me quite a bit is the transition from sitting to standing. When I've been sitting for more than say 5 minutes, my joints get stiff and hurt a lot later when I get up again and stretch them. It takes a couple tries of straightening my legs before I can just about stand on them. Because of this, when I get downstairs I stay standing even though my legs are tired. Thankfully Hermione doesn't take very long and we leave very to the Great Hall after about 8 minutes.

Lunch is a fairly simple event, with me spending most of my time eating and Hermione spending most of her time talking with our friends. From what I heard of conversation, they were talking about Luna being really good at listening to people's problems and helping them understand how to let them go. I totally agree with them based on what I've experienced around her.

I remember back in sixth year I confided in Myrtle Warren, or Moaning Myrtle as most of the school disrespectfully calls her, about the stress I was going through about my mission. However she wasn't the only one I talked to. One night that year I had just finished my daily session of trying to fix the broken vanishing cabinet when I found Luna wandering the halls.

 _I quietly sneak out of the Room of Requirement and shut the door as softly as possible. I'm very tired after yet another failed attempt to fix the cabinet._

 _I'm careful to keep away from the windows and torches, staying only in the shadows. I'm almost to the Slytherin dormitories when I see Luna walking by the windows. She's slowly walking and looking out at the sky wearing a soft white dress. Her hand delicately trails on the window and her head is tilted in curiosity at the world outside. I look at her for awhile and absorb the peacefulness of the picture before me. I'm about to turn away and keep walking when she says something._

 _"Don't leave yet Draco, you haven't seen the moon yet." Her words startle me since she hasn't turned around yet so I don't know how she realized I was there. I respond as politely as possible to reduce the risk of her telling someone she saw me out here._

 _"Pardon?"_

 _"The sky is really pretty tonight, it would be shame if you left before you got to properly enjoy this. Don't worry about us being disturbed, I've befriended Ms. Norris so she won't tell Filch and she should warn us if anyone is coming this way. She's the one who told me that you were coming. Don't worry, I don't have eyes at the back of my head, though I don't understand why anyone would want that in the first place.."_

 _I don't know what to say so I just walk over carefully and stand next to her._

 _"I know by the way that you've spent a while in the Room of Requirement recently. I know you're behind the attacks." I take a sharp breath in when she says this. Have I really been this obvious? How come Potter and his gang haven't realized what I'm up to then? Well, I mean it's Potter and he isn't very observant at all. Hermione though should have realized that something's up._

 _"I don't blame you for it though. If my mother was alive and my family was threatened, I wouldn't want to defy the person responsible either. It takes a lot of courage to stand up to that."_

 _I'm honestly shocked by how much she knows. There must be a lot more to her than meets the eye. I wonder how much she knows about all of us. I wonder how much she knows about Potter; perhaps she can spy on him for me._

 _"My mum told me before she died that I have good emotional smarts and that I should use them to help people. So I do, I people watch and assist them when needed. I just want you to know Draco, that I think that you'll do the right thing in the end. It won't be an easy thing to do, but you'll get through it. You have good in you, you just have to let it out when the time is right."_

 _Before I realize what I've done, I've slid down the wall and I'm crouching against it with my head in my hands. All the pent up frustration and emotion from the past few weeks is begging to be released right now. With tears starting to roll down my cheeks I start to explain myself to her._

 _"It's just so hard, I don't want to do this. I don't want to be responsible for their accidents. But if I don't do the deed someone else will do it and it will be so much worse. I try to fumble up as much as possible without angering Voldemort to point where he hurts my parents. It's just so hard, I didn't ask for this!" I start to cry in earnest and I hear some shuffling next to me. I assume that Luna's left me alone like everyone else in my life, but when I look up I see her crouching next to me with a gentle expression on her face._

 _"It's alright Draco. I believe in you. None of us asked for this, that would be silly. None of us deserve our predicament, not even you despite what you may think. However, we have to do the best with the cards we've been dealt and I think you're doing the best you can with your hand." She puts her arm around me and sits with me as cry everything out._

 _When I finally choke back the sobs and swallow them down, she gives me a smile and then says goodbye._

 _"Good night Draco, we should probably head back before the sun rises and the moon sets. Don't worry, I won't tell anyone about this. Just remember that if you ever want to talk to me, you know how to find me." When she finishes she drifts back off in the direction of what I assume are the Ravenclaw dormitories._

I'm pulled out of my daze when Hermione taps my shoulder. I look up at her and see that she's packed up her stuff which means that lunch is probably over or at least almost done. I nod and grab my bag from the ground. I carefully grab my crutches and pull myself up with them after stretching my knees. We then slowly make our way up to our dorm once again.

We get inside and start to discuss what we are going to do this afternoon. Since we were released from the hospital wing in the middle of the day, McGonagall decided to let us take the afternoon off as well.

"So Draco, what do you want to do now? We have the entire afternoon to recuperate before class tomorrow. I think we should probably go to bed at a decent time seeing as how we don't have any homework right now, but other than that I don't really know."

"Well, I was thinking that maybe I could call my house elf Bipsy and have her make us some hot chocolate, chocolate, and some small pastries since we won't get a chance to really do that till Christmas break which is in about 3 weeks. I was also thinking that we could do this while watching another muggle film. Are there any films you really like that are completely different from the action films we've watched recently?" I'm genuinely curious to know what other films there are out there, and what other films Hermione like music, it gives me insight into her personality because our choices in media often reflect how we view the world and ourselves.

"That's a great idea! There's actually a trilogy of movies that I really like and haven't watched in awhile. It's very different from the stuff we've seen so far, and I think this afternoon is the perfect time to binge watch it all." She is very happy and starts to jump in excitement.

"Cool, what's it called?" I ask since she's so excited she's forgotten to tell me what it is.

"Well first of all, I'm going to get you sitting down on the couch before you fall over." With that, she half 'shoo's and half helps me over to the couch and then plugs her laptop in to the small projector we bought in Diagon Alley a couple weeks back. She points it at the white wall and gets up to get a couple spare blankets and pillows for us to curl up with. While she gets stuff set up, I summon Bipsy to our room. She appears with the usual pop as soon as I call her.

"Master, Bipsy awaits your orders." She says as she bows.

"Bipsy, I was wondering if you could make some hot chocolate, cookies, and pastries for Hermione and I. You can choose the flavours and what ingredients you use, the kitchen is over there and you can use whatever you need from the kitchens as well."

"As you wish master. Bipsy also would like to inform you that Malfoy manor is in excellent condition and there have been no incidents during your absence."

"Excellent Bipsy, you may now carry out your orders, also I will include a bonus in your contract for this extra work. No buts, this wasn't part of your original contract."

She nods and then scurries off to start cooking. I quickly pull my phone out of my bag to make a reminder to add the bonus to her contract. During that time, Hermione has returned with the blankets and cushions, and a flash drive. I look at the flash drive with a curious expression and Hermione notices.

"I keep copies of my favourite movies on here so I can watch them on my computer without needing to download it or bring the dvd. Okay, so the film series we're going to watch is called High School Musical. The video quality is kind of blurry for the first film, but the movie's kind of old so it's to be expected." She then fiddles around with her computer for a little longer and then starts it up. She walks over to the couch and then brings a blanket for us to snuggle under.

The movie is actually really good and the dance is pretty cool though I would never admit it to anyone other than Hermione, or maybe Blaise, just because it would destroy my reputation. Sharpay is really annoying and frankly reminds me of Pansy, but what really reminds me of our world is Troy and Gabriella. They, like Hermione and I, are so drastically different from each other except for their shared love of music. In fact, Troy's dad actually reminds me of my own father, though perhaps not as evil. There are many parallels between our two stories and I can see why Hermione likes it so much. Though I would hate to admit it to most people, the songs are really catchy and I actually enjoy them quite a bit.

We are about halfway through the first movie when Bipsy comes over with a tray two steaming mugs of hot chocolate; complete with peppermint candy canes, chocolate syrup, marshmallows, and whipped cream. On the tray is also a small plate of sugar cookies. I quietly thank Bipsy and pass Hermione a mug. We continue watching the movie and when it's over, Hermione gets up to start the second one. As she does this, I tell what I thought of it.

"That was actually really good, though I don't want the whole world to find out that I thought so, it would destroy my fearsome image." She laughs as I say this, and I smile as well. "You know, Sharpay reminds me of Pansy, she's just as needy and latched on to Troy as Pansy is to me." At this, Hermione doubles over laughing. When she calms down a bit she replies.

"Does that make us Troy and Gabriella?"

"Yes, I think it does."

"Good, because I was thinking the same thing. Though if we continues on this path, that would mean that McGonagall is Mrs. Darbus, Harry is Ryan, and Ron is kind of like Chad... Sort of." I laugh at her words and we both sit enjoying the jokes for a bit.

We spend the rest of the evening watching the films and I have a lot of fun watching these movies. It's a nice change from the usual slightly depressing action films and our own action packed lives. It's nice watching something so light-hearted and cheerful. I've always thought of romances as really sappy and boring, but these movies pulled it off in a wonderful way with lots of powerful life lessons packed into it.

Bipsy comes over to us in the middle of the second film with a tray of assorted pastries. There are spinach and cheese pastries, ricotta and ham pastries, strawberry and cream cheese pastries, and apple pastries. The pastry is so light, fluffy, and crispy, while the filling is rich and filling. They're all warm and stay that way throughout both the films. We polish off all the food Bipsy makes for us by the end and she comes over when we're done to clear the dishes. When she finishes i say goodbye to her and dismiss her back to the manor.

"I really enjoyed tonight, the food was good and I liked watching my childhood movies with you. It's about 7:20 right now, and i think we should get an early night's sleep before the next week since tomorrow is Tuesday and we aren't getting another chance like this for another month."

"I agree with both your points. The films were great, and it was nice to take my mind off of the dreariness of our lives. It was nice to be happy for a while. I'm actually pretty tired myself."

We both then move to get up, with me stretching first. I hobble up the stairs to my room leaving my crutches in the common room and leaning on the handrail instead while on the stairs. I go after Hermione so that she can get up faster and use the bathroom before me.

When I get up I carefully open the door and stumble over to my bed. I feel really lethargic and just lie there looking at the ceiling patterns. The wallpaper is covered in little green vines with the occasional snake here and there. I love looking at patterns as they are so complicated. They fascinate me to no end and I find them so beautiful and delicate. They also remind me a lot of the flowers and plants in the gardens in Malfoy Manor. I just stare at my surroundings for a while and wait for Hermione to finish in the bathroom.

When she's done, she knocks on my door and tells me the bathroom is now free. I get up and make my way to the bathroom after dragging myself off of my bed. I walk in and brush my teeth while sitting on the stool in the bathroom. Once I'm done, I carefully walk back to my bed by leaning on the wall get changed into my pyjamas. When I'm done changing, I flop onto my bed and sink into the mattress. I curl up as carefully as possible under my sheets and fall into a peaceful sleep that is made so much better by the fact that I'm back in my own bed.

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Author's Note: Draco's leg problems are actually based off of my own experiences. I had a gymnastics injury about two years back where I compressed the joints in my knees and ankles by ramming into a brick wall with straight legs. So the descriptions of his problems and how he deals with them, for example the braces, are based of actual stuff and aren't completely made up, though they are made slightly more dramatic. Thanks for all of your support guys, I love hearing feedback or even just critisism, it is very important to improve writing. I hope you all have wonderful week, till next time!


	30. Soup, Understanding, & New Plans

Disclaimer: I do not own the Harry Potter franchise, nor anything affiliated with it.

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Hermione's POV

So far it's been just about 3 days since we've come back to school, and almost nothing has happened in any of our classes. I'm extremely surprised since our first semester is coming up to an end in January. We just have about 6 weeks till exams and 7 till the end of this semester.

Muggle Studies still hasn't found another teacher yet, and most of the students are having all sorts of mental health issues. Luna spends most of her free time talking with the students in our class and giving counseling sessions.

Potions has been pretty standard and we aren't really learning anything new. Most of our time is spent studying for exams and I've pretty much finished all of that stuff.

Transfiguration isn't that exciting as most of us were able to learn how to transfigure ourselves into objects in just a couple of classes much to our professor's dismay. That is pretty much the biggest thing in the curriculum for our year. Since most of us are very good at spell casting and difficult magic, due to experience in the Battle of Hogwarts and Dumbledore's Army, we were able to figure it out pretty easily. Most of the time we just make up transfiguration games to amuse ourselves with while our teacher keeps an eye on us.

We're in Arithmancy right now which is probably the only one that we still have work to do, but it isn't very interesting. We're working on data management and probability, but I already put some research into this back in sixth year because I had some free time. I used to really like this class, but like most of the other classes we are doing right now, it's been getting more boring and less creative.

When class ends Draco and I walk to our dorm to drop our books off before dinner. Draco has been getting a little bit better with the help of his physiotherapy and medication, but it still pains him a great deal to be walking around. Thanks to a map I created back in first year, I was able to find the fastest and most efficient routes for us to take to get places. That has made it a lot easier for us to get to class without much hassle.

When we get to our room Draco practically collapses on the couch. I put my bag on my usual couch across from Draco and then sit down. The cushions on both of the couches have been getting messier and messier as we've progressed through the school year since neither of us have the drive to place them back properly anymore. They are either really squished or are thrown all over the place.

"Draco, if you don't want to go down to the hall for food, we can stay up here. I have some extra food in the fridge that I can use to make us some dinner. You look really tired." I say. He looks just about dead due to his persisting lack of sleep. His nightmares were horrible after his mother's death back before we ended up going on that airport trip, but I guarantee that they've gotten much worse since the attack. At least I know that I've started to get more nightmares because of it, though I work hard to make sure that Draco doesn't find out because I know he'll worry about me which he doesn't need to do.

"Thanks Hermione, I just really don't want to walk anymore today. My knees were just so painful today and I don't think I'll be able to bear any more movement right now. Merlin! I wish this would just be over soon. I hate having to consume these potions, they're so bitter and revolting. The braces are better than having none but they don't make that much of a difference, and the crutches are so cumbersome when I'm trying to move slightly faster so that we aren't late for class. I just want this to be over so I can go back to doing things like normal." He groans into his hands and I feel bad for him. He didn't ask for any of this but he has to deal with it anyway.

"It's alright Draco, you'll find a way to cope, I know you will. For now, how about filling your most likely empty stomach?"

"That would be nice yeah. Thanks again Hermione. I doubt that I would be able to stay sane with all of this stuff if you weren't here to help me." I smile and get up before heading over to the kitchen to start preparing food for us.

"You're welcome. Is cream of mushroom soup and spinach pastries okay for dinner?" I ask once I've opened the fridge and pantry, and taken a look around. "I also have some leftover grape juice from about two weeks back."

"That sounds great Hermione." He replies.

With the approval from him, I grab all of the ingredients and start mixing the cream, salt, and butter in a pan and leave it on the stove for a while to heat up. I then grab the mushrooms collected from the garden at his house, which Bipsy dropped off last time, and chop them up into small chunks and some fine minced pieces that might as well be paste at this point. Once I've finished prepping the soup, I grab the leftover pastries Bipsy made and reheat them in the oven. I then walk over to the pan and mix the cream base a bit then add the mushroom into it. I stir it for a bit, then add some green onion bits and a bit more milk to make it a bit thinner. I remove the pan from the stove and place it on a coaster along with the pastries. I then grab two bowls and two plates to dish our food onto and put both meal sets on a tray. To finish off, I grab two glasses and fill them with grape juice before placing a warming charm on the remaining food on the counter in case either Draco or I want more later.

I walk back over to him with the tray and place it on the coffee table. He's already pulled out his laptop while I was cooking and is getting a head start on homework. He has his textbooks strewn on the table with pieces of parchment overlaid on them. He has a few sheets of the parchment in his lap and is carefully writing notes from the textbooks and his diagrams. I love his handwriting as it has such a precise flowing script to it. He uses cursive instead of printing and it makes it look so much more fancy and elegant. His forehead is slightly creased in concentration and his shoulders have lost their usual rigid posture. I just look at how concentrated he is, but also how peaceful he looks right now, for a few moments before walking over to his side of the coffee table. I tap his shoulder and try to get his attention.

"Draco, food's ready. It might be best to have it while it's still hot." He looks up a bit surprised, but quickly snaps out of it. He nods and after placing his work into rough piles, he moves it to the corner of the table. We sit opposite each other like usual and take our food. Draco eats the food very quickly like usual and I ask him if he wants more.

"No it's okay, though I may get some later. Don't worry Hermione, I can do it myself. Anyway I should practise taking short trips every now and then. Once those become easier I can make them longer." He then drinks down his glass of grape juice before placing all his dishes in a neat stack on the tray. Once he finishes that he brings his pile of work out again, but spreads it in a neater more compact configuration.

"By the way Hermione, the soup was really nice. It was so creamy and rich."

"Thank you Draco. I'm glad you liked it."

He then turns back to his work and I continue eating what's left of my food. When I'm done I gather all the dishes and take them back to the kitchen. I wash them quickly and place them back in the cabinets and make sure to leave a bowl out for Draco if he wants more food. I then go up to my room and gather all I need for homework. I come back down and sit on my couch. I'm about to start my homework when a questions pops into my head.

"Draco, why don't you use a wheelchair? I would have thought that either you or Madame Pomfrey would have thought of it, unless you don't know what it is." He takes a moment to respond and puts down his parchment before he responds.

"Well Madame Pomfrey mentioned it to me one of them times you were asleep as an alternative to the crutches and braces. I said no for a number of reasons. One, I'll never get better if I don't try to push myself. If I use a wheelchair I wouldn't feel like trying to get better because that's just how my brain works. Two, though a wheelchair is very convenient on flat surfaces, I wouldn't be able to take the stairs with it. Hogwarts doesn't have an elevator and it would take too much effort to levitate the wheelchair up and down the stairs. Three, a wheelchair is much more obvious than crutches and I would like as little pity from people as possible. Four, wheelchairs also take up a lot of space and are very cumbersome. So yes, I do know about wheelchairs and no, I would prefer to not use them."

I smirk at his lengthy and very well thought out answer. It's quite clear to me that he does not want to use one.

"That makes sense. It totally understand where you're coming from. Well not entirely, but I understand your train of thought. You can go back to your homework now, sorry for disturbing you."

"It's alright, I don't really feel like doing this stuff anyway, but I have to if I want to graduate."

"True." After that we fall into silence and listen to music instead while doing our work.

I finish all of the homework questions for Arithmancy pretty quickly and add to my notes for that class. Once I'm done with the rest of my homework, I pack up my stuff and go up to my room in the hopes that I can get a little more sleep tonight.

When I reach my room I go to my desk to file my notes away in the cabinet next to it. I then place my binder and textbooks on my shelf in their appropriate sections. I'm about to shower and brush my teeth for bed when I hear a tapping on my window. I open my curtain to see Harry's owl staring back at me with a letter in her beak.

I open the window and let her in. She hops onto my side table and I take the letter from. I quickly summon an owl treat from my purse and give it to her. She nods in thanks and flies back out the window.

I take the letter and sit at my desk to open it. I take my scissors and carefully make a slit in the top for me to take it out. I place the scissors back in it's holder and take the letter out. After placing the envelope on the table, I open the letter and start to read

 _Dear Hermione,_

 _How are you and Malfoy doing? I hope you guys are better now. I was wondering if you guys wanted to meet up in Hogsmeade again sometime soon? Stuff at work has finally been slowing down and the fiasco with at the airport is clearing up. I think your next trip is in two weeks time, right? Well anyway, that date works for me so if you could get back to me as soon as possible on your availability that would be great._

 _In the meantime, I'll catch you up briefly on what I've been doing the past week. We managed to placate the unhappy purebloods, but we did have to threaten a few of the more stubborn families. Just little things, but overall it was a pretty big hassle to deal with all of them. Ron has been suspended for the past few days because of the scene he pulled in the airport. He's really starting to bug me with all of his talk about how the purebloods should all die unless they've been called 'blood traitors' during Voldemort's reign. It's all a load of bollocks but he just won't let any of it go. It's wearing me down and I hope he has to go on a mission soon so he can get out of my hair._

 _Anyway, what's going on with you? Have you and Malfoy gone on any dates yet? Also, how has the search been for the new muggle studies professor, or have they still not found anyone?_

 _Well please respond soon, and I promise I'll give a more detailed account of what I've been doing for the last while when we meet up again._

 _Always,_

 _Harry P._

I read through it once more to make sure I haven't missed anything and then pull out a piece of parchment to reply to his letter. I then pull out one of my erasable pens, a purple one, and then start writing.

 _Dear Harry,_

 _We'd love to meet up with you and we are free next Saturday and Sunday. However due to some issues that I'll explain, or rather let Draco explain when you get here, would it be okay if you meet up with us at the castle? I'm sure McGonagall would be okay with it and I can always ask her for permission and let you know later her response. We can hang out in our Head dorms seeing as how we have a lot of space here and can have a lot more privacy._

 _Do you want to invite Neville, Luna, and Blaise, or just Ginny along as well? It really depends on what you want to do and if you want to talk about more sensitive stuff. Anyway, Draco and I have not had time to date yet. We still haven't found another muggle studies professor and instead have a free period or therapy sessions everyday for that class while we wait._

 _I'm sorry to hear that Ron has been bugging you as well. It's such a shame that he's gotten so bigoted, I miss the old Ron. It's just so toxic listening to him talk now. Oh well, hopefully he'll change one day and we can go back to being a group of three best friends. Till then, we can just hope._

 _So in summary, we'd love to see you next weekend. I can't wait to see you then._

 _Sincerely,_

 _Hermione G._

I put my pen down and read my letter over to make sure there are no mistakes on it. I then grab an envelope from a small folder containing all my paper writing supplies like labels, paper, parchment, and envelopes. I place the letter inside after carefully folding it. I seal it with a little bit of wax from a candle and place on my table to drop off at the owlery later tomorrow.

I then get up and grab my stuff for my shower and brushing of my teeth. I enter the bathroom and take a nice, hot, relaxing shower. I then brush my teeth quickly after putting on my pyjamas. I exit the bathroom afterwards and then put away my used clothes in a small basket in my closet to wash later.

I crawl into bed and start a playlist of soundtrack music to fall asleep to. I lay down and adjust myself till I'm comfortable and let the peaceful music take me to a beautiful place where I'm comfortable around my friends and there's no prejudice.

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Author's Note: I'm so sorry about the late update, I had a couple of events and I didn't have much time to write. Next update should be up Wednesday since my schedule is clearing up, but no promises. Thanks so much for the support, I really like hearing feeback from you guys. Please review! Have a great week, till next time.


	31. Alarms, Visits, & Board Games

Disclaimer: I do not own the Harry Potter franchise, nor anything affiliated with it.

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Draco's POV

It's Saturday morning and all I want to do is sleep. Last night I wasn't able to find a prefect who could take over my patrol shift for me, and Hermione had already gone to bed when I realized that I hadn't asked anyone. That meant I had to go myself because I didn't want to shirk my duties as Head Boy. I spent almost twice my normal time hobbling around the school and was only prevented from doing the rest of it because Headmistress McGonagall found me wandering the hallways by myself and said that she would finish for me.

 _"You didn't choose to get injured, so you might as well do your best to get better soon and walking around excessively is not going to help. I'll finish the rest of your patrol for you, go get some rest."_

After that, she stalked away and I headed back to my dorm to fall asleep on my bed at a very ungodly hour.

My alarm goes off and I want nothing more than to throw my phone across the room. I turn it off as quickly as I can and try to go back to bed. I feel so tired but the longer I lie in my bed the more restless I get. I soon throw my blankets off of me and sit up trying to rub the sleep from my eyes. I swing my legs off the bed and stretch them out a bit before getting up and leaning on my bed post for support. I lean on the wall and walk over to the window to open the curtain in the hopes of waking up faster.

The rising sun does not disappoint me and I open the window itself to breath in the fresh and crisp morning air. I let the cool breeze wake me up and I feel much more alert. With a start I remember that today is the that Potter is coming over. I quickly close my window and move as quickly as I can to the bathroom so that I can shower before Hermione wakes up.

I hate showering now because it's a balancing act. If I slip now it's so much harder to catch myself before ending up on my rear end, and it hurts a lot when I do. I have to be very careful and make sure that none of my conditioner falls out of my hand when applying it to my hair so that the floor of the shower is as non-slip as possible. Not to mention, I also have to try and hurry up so I don't spend as much time on my feet. For a while there I had to transfigure one of my soap bottles into a stool so I could rest periodically.

I get out of the shower and I get dressed into some more comfortable, but still presentable, clothes.

When I'm done I put my braces on and pack my bag for today. Even though Potter will mostly be staying with Hermione, Ginny, and I in our common room, I don't want to have to come back to my room in that time because I'd rather limit the opportunities for Mr. Golden Boy to have pity for me. I make sure to pack all my potions, my phone, my laptop, my earbuds, my textbooks and notes, and my journal in addition to the stationary and other small items that were already in there like pens and pencils.

I pick up my crutches and walk out of my room with them. When I get to the stairs, I tuck them under one arm and lean on the railing to get down. It's about 7 am which means I probably slept in for about 15 minutes if I factor in the additional time it's been taking me in the morning to get ready. It also means that Hermione isn't awake yet and I have another hour and a half before anything is going to happen.

Since I'm always up first, Hermione asked if I could put some food in the fridge into the oven on a timer to be ready for when Potter and Ginny come over. I do it as quickly as I can, but I can't help but marvel at the efficient way she organized everything beforehand so I barely have to do anything. I walk over to the couch and sit while waiting.

I pull out my laptop and check my email to see if I got any stuff in my Inbox since last night, but there isn't anything new. I then mentally check to see if I have any urgent homework assignments but come up with nothing. I just browse a bit on my computer trying to find something to do and eventually end up playing an online version of mahjong. It's actually very fun and makes me feel as calm as I do with Sudoku. They both require the player to be observant, but in Sudoku it's a matter of finding an unknown number, whereas mahjong requires the player to find the matching pieces in a way that will let you get all of the pieces. When I've decided that I'm kind of bored I check the time again and see that it's only 8 am, leaving with another half hour to figure out something to do before Harry and Ginny come over.

I don't really mind hanging around with Potter much now because I have no reason to hate him now, but Ginny can be kind of annoying. Maybe it's because she's a year younger and I don't really understand most of what she's talking about. Most of the time she talks about stuff that only the girls will understand or stuff that only the Gryffindors will understand, though she does discuss Quidditch fairly often which is nice. She sometimes, however, pokes fun at me for once being a Death Eater which I'm unusually sensitive about. She can be very immature like that, but thankfully she isn't like that all the time. I just hope she doesn't pull that stuff today because if she does, I won't be responsible for any dead bodies that turn up over the next few days.

Hermione soon comes down the stairs and interrupts my brooding thoughts. I put my laptop away at this point because it would be bad form if Harry came in earlier and I was acting like this was so boring and he wasn't worth my attention.

"Good morning Draco, how are you?"

"I'm fine, how are you?" I ask in response.

"I'm okay, although I didn't sleep very well because I just had this feeling like something's going to happen and it won't be very good. Maybe it's just a PMS thing, but it's just worrying." I nod in sympathy. The last time I had a feeling like that, my mother died. However, I don't tell her that as it would probably just make her feel more stressed.

"Don't worry, even gut feelings can be wrong. Anyway, Potter's coming over and the four of us are pretty competent wizards and witches so I doubt we'd be unable to deal with whatever fate throws our way." I say to try and relieve her of her worries a bit. She comes over to my couch and sits down next to me. She leans her head on my shoulder and grabs my left hand to squeeze it.

"What time did you go to bed last night?" She asks me. I feel guilty about the answer, but I don't want to lie either so I just reply quickly.

"Um, around 1:45 I think. What about you?" I try to make it sound as if it's completely normal in the hopes that she wasn't paying attention to the number.

"Draco! 1:45 is really late, what were you doing?" It seems I failed, but I answer her question anyway. In that time she's let go of my hand and it feels cold now. She is now turned to face me and has her lecturing face on.

"Well, I forgot to ask a prefect to take over for me last night and I didn't want to wake you up so I went out myself. I would have been longer, but McGonagall found me when I was about two thirds of the way done and said she'd take over. By the time I got back it was around 1:35, and by the time I got ready for bed it was around 1:45." She looks at me with a disapproving expression but leaves the topic for the time being. Instead she goes back to her earlier position and I feel warm again.

We sit like that in our common room with the sunlight streaming in through the window and casting it's beautiful glow on our surroundings, just sitting there together and letting our worries go. Eventually Hermione gets up when we hear a knock on our portrait door.

She walks over to open it and lets Potter and Ginny in. We invite them in and Hermione exchanges hugs with both of them while I struggle to get up leaning on the armrest, and shake Potter's hand. I give a nod in the direction of Ginny and she replies in kind. Potter carries a small tin in his hand which he gives to Hermione.

"Mrs. Weasley found out I was going to see you guys today so she made us a quiche to have for lunch. It's spinach and ricotta. By the way, she says hi"

"That's great! Please tell her I said hi and thanks." She she then places the tin in the fridge to keep it fresh for now.

We then sit down together with Potter and Ginny on Hermione's couch, me on my own couch. Hermione is getting the food from the oven as well as dishes for all four of us. She comes back fairly quickly with a tray of bacon, sausages, fried egg, some crusty buns, and a few small waffles. She also has a large jug of milk and four glasses, sets of cutlery, and plates.

We all serve ourselves when she hands us the dishes and eat in relative silence so that we can get to talking as quick as possible. The food is absolutely excellent and I wonder how she got all this food and prepped it last night on such short notice. The eggs are just right, the bacon and sausages are juicy, the bread is really nice and crispy as well as soft, and the waffles are so fluffy. When we're all done, I arrange all the dishes on the tray and Hermione takes it back to the sink. When she comes back we start talking again.

"So Hermione, why couldn't we meet up in Hogsmeade? I must say I'm kind of curious to know and I'm also kind of concerned. Did one of you get injured or something or was it from the airport incident?"

"Well, that's Draco story to tell." She then turns to me. "Do you want to tell them or do you want me to?"

"No it's fine." I say. "I can say it."

"Well first of all Potter, it is because I got injured during the airport incident. So you are correct. Do you want to hear the specifics?"

"Yes please, if it's not too much of a trouble." He says. I can tell his curiosity is piqued now. Of course it is, even now when he's an adult he still makes his business to know everything he can. A small voice at the back of my head makes a rueful comment about how he gets even more interested if it involves me and I have to keep the smile off of my face.

"No, it's fine. So as you know I injured my leg and broke my ankle because of the rubble that fell after the explosion. The explosives are a type of explosive that affects the air around us. Hermione managed to place a shield charm around the bomb that would lessen the impact of it when she threw it, but it didn't quite work. There were some small pockets where the explosion was too much for the magic and i happened to be in a section where the charm wasn't as strong. The air was partially vaporized and there was a sudden drop of oxygen that altogether damaged my lungs almost like if it was microwaved but not as intense.

Then afterwards when you arrived on scene and I collapsed in front of you, it wasn't just because of the sudden loss of adrenaline, it was also because one of the Death Eaters fired a curse at me. I know you know that already since you were the one who spotted him, but I'm pretty sure they never told you what kind of curse was used. The curse is unknown, but it essentially was supposed to deteriorate all the joints in my body. Thankfully he missed slightly and only grazed a lower part of my legs lessening the effects of it and is only limited to my legs." I continue on to how it impacts why we are here and not in Hogsmeade.

"I now have a bit of trouble breathing and can't do much physical activity. I also have to wear braces and let it heal naturally as the curse blocks against any spells that could heal it. It also meant that we couldn't heal the fracture in my ankle by magic. I can take some small painkiller potions and some basic strengthening potions, but that's about it. I have a bit of trouble walking and because of that, it would have been kind of hard to go all the way down to Hogsmeade. Sorry about that, it would have been nicer to meet in the village." I can tell Potter is shocked by all this and Ginny looks the same since she didn't know the full story.

"Wow Malfoy, that's some pretty intense stuff. I can't believe that all of this was caused because of the Death Eaters. I feel pretty angry that the guards managed to let the Death Eaters escape from Azkaban though. We really didn't need that many deaths in the muggle world and a clean up of that scale. You have my sympathies Malfoy, I hope you heal soon."

"Thanks Potter." I notice that Potter is looking at me the same way Hermione did when we found out together what happened. They both had the same guilty look and it unsettles me to have Potter looking at me like that.

"Potter, don't feel guilty about what happened, I can tell from your face that you think you're partly responsible. You aren't. You did your job, and you did it well. What's done is done and we can't change it." He looks kind of surprised that I could tell what he was thinking but recovers quickly.

"I didn't realize you could read people that well. You do it so quickly as well, that's kind of cool." I notice he's avoiding the topic but I let it slide.

Hermione senses the built up tension from the heavy topics and decides to get us to play a game.

"Hey guys, do you want to learn how to play Jenga? It's a game where you have a tower of blocks and we all take turns removing one of them that isn't on the top in the hopes that it won't fall down. The person who knocks it down loses and of the the remaining people, the person with the most blocks wins. I have it in my room upstairs."

Ginny finally speaks in response to this. "That sounds great Hermione! Let's do it." Harry and I nod in agreement, so Hermione goes up to get it. She's gotten it and is back down in less than 2 minutes, but it feels like forever because of the air of tension between the two Gryffindors and me.

"Here we go, I'll just stack up the blocks first and then we can play." She then proceeds to tip the box upside down and remove the box from around revealing a stack of small rectangular blocks.

"Alright I'll start to demonstrate. When it's your turn you can remove any block unless it's on the top by pushing or pulling it out from the tower. If you touch a block, you have to take it." She then proceeds to push a block out and puts it front of her.

We take turns removing blocks, but I seem to get all of the really hard ones. The tower is finally knocked over when Ginny tries to remove one on the side of the tower. It's just a little too much weight for one side and it topples. The shock of it actually falling down makes all of us jump a bit, but we soon start laughing about it. In the end I win with 11 blocks. Harry and Hermione are both second with 10 each, and Ginny obviously lost. I'm just glad I didn't lose.

We play another couple of rounds before we decide to break for lunch. Hermione gets up and brings back the quiche from the fridge and a knife to cut it up. We all take some napkins and put our pieces on them instead of plates. We finish about half of it before we decide we've all had a lot. Hermione then takes it back to the kitchen and wraps it up for us to heat up over the next few days. WHen she returns we discuss what we want to do next.

"Hermione, do you have any other games we could play?" Ginny asks her.

"Yes, I have a game called Scrabble which is where you get seven 'letter' tiles and use them to make words, a game called Monopoly where you collect property and build on them which gets very competitive, and a card game called UNO where you get rid of your cards as fast as possible. If you want a longer game Monopoly would be better, but UNO and Scrabble can be played multiple times."

"I'm really interested in Monopoly. I think Dudley got it once for his birthday, but I didn't get to play with it. It sounded like lots of fun."

"Okay, as long as no one objects we're going to play Monopoly then." Says Hermione.

She then leave to go upstairs and get the game. She comes back down with a large flat box that is covered in green and red. She take off the lid and pulls out little cards with question marks, treasure chests, or red on them. There was also a large stack of paper money in different colours, little metal tokens, and green and red houses. She sets up the board and takes the role of the bank. Potter chooses the dog token, Ginny chooses the cat token, Hermione takes the thimble token, and I take the top hat token.

The game takes about 2 and a half hours since we couldn't play very well, however I caught on pretty quickly. It was mostly just finance and investments which I'm pretty good at. I won with $6,472 since I managed to collect the two dark blue properties, the three yellow properties, the utilities, and the two brown properties. Hermione came second, Ginny was third, and Potter went bankrupt.

Once we've packed up Monopoly, we decide to play a game of Scrabble which Hermione wins. I was close to winning, but in the end she had a much better vocabulary and understanding of the game. I had a lot of fun overall and it was nice to try playing muggle games. They are a lot more fun than wizarding games, and much less intense. Wizarding chess can be very stressful, so these games were a nice change from that.

When it's around 5 pm we decide to go to the Great Hall for dinner since most people will be in Hogsmeade anyway. We walk over rather slowly on account of me, but Hermione tries to distract them by pointing out different things on our way so they could remember old memories allowing me more time to catch up and not feel too bad about lagging behind them.

We finally get to the hall and it's very quiet. There are maybe a total of 30 students, and most of them are in first or second year. There is no one at our table which was great because I did not feel like talking to anyone else besides Hermione, Potter, or Ginny. Harry loads his plate with the food at the table, but especially with treacle tart, which I find out is his favourite dessert.

"Wow, I haven't had this food in almost two years. I've missed it so much. The house elves cooking here is just so wonderful. Ron would love to have..." He trails off awkwardly and doesn't finish his sentence. Hermione tells him it's alright and that the old Ron would definitely wished he could be here. Ginny quickly changes the topic to avoid causing too much tension between us.

We talk a bit about Peeves and how he was so ridiculously annoying during school. He's mostly left the student's alone this year, but he'll cause trouble every now and then when it's particularly boring in class or the hallways. I think he isn't as invested in his pranks because he knows that a lot of students are kind of depressed from the Battle back in May, and some of them panic when he causes chaos. Though I didn't think it was possible, he has toned down his tricks because of that, though he hasn't stopped entirely.

We finish our food after about 45 minutes of talking and just stay there for another half hour or so. By the time we even think about leaving, it's almost 6:45 pm so we head to the main entrance to say goodbye to Potter since he still has to get back to Hogsmeade so he can apparate back to the ministry.

Thankfully the walk from the Great Hall to the entrance hall isn't too long, so I don't have to much of a problem walking there with my crutches. We pass by McGonagall and the three of them chat with her while I just kind of wait there to the side. We soon move on after they say goodbye and eventually get to the entrance hall. I love the artwork in here as there is lots of it in many different mediums. There are sculptures, paintings, stone-mason work, and carving in the space around us.

We say goodbye to Potter and he leaves when we finish. We watch him walk back to the village till we can't see any further. Ginny leaves to go back to her dorm and leaves Hermione and I. We carefully make our way back to our dorm. As we turn a corner to take a shortcut, someone jumps out in front of us and hits Hermione with a stunning spell. She crumples on the floor and I stare in shock at her unconscious form. I start to feel panic rise up inside of me but I fight to push it back down and keep a level head like she would have done. I turn to look at the intruder and I'm surprised to meet the slightly crazed gaze of Ron Weasley.

He stands in front of me in all black robes with his hair slightly messy. He has a crazy smile on his face and starts to talk.

"I told you I would find you and make you pay for what you're doing to Hermione. You're brainwashing her into loving you when she should be with me. You're destroying her life and I'm here to stop you." When he finishes his little speech, he socks me in the jaw. It reminds of when Hermione did that to me in third year, but there was so much more malice in this one and I know that Ron won't stop tonight until he gets what he wants.

I fall to the ground and my crutches fall next to me. He kicks me in the stomach and I curl up in a ball to prevent him from hurting me too much. He kicks my back and hips instead as I try to move away from him. I'm too scared to cry for help so I just let it happen. I'm done fighting him. I just don't have any energy to fight back today. He kicks me again and I hear a crack followed by a sharp pain in my hip. I think he may have broken it. I resist the urge to cry out as I know it will just fuel his passion even more.

Soon he stops beating me up but all of a sudden I hear him whisper _Sectumsempra_ and my back feels like it's been split open. I just feel shock at this point. The memories of that incident in the bathroom comes back to me. I feel the hopelessness flooding my bones. The feeling that I'm going to die today returns and I feel it taking over. Just as I think he's about to cast the spell again, I hear a voice behind me.

"What on Earth is goi-. Oh my gosh." Followed by a very calm but worried Stupefy. I panic at first thinking that Ron has taken care of a possible savior, but I hear women's shoes next to my head and I raise it just enough to see McGonagall standing above me.

"Draco listen to me. I need to heal your wound on your back or you'll bleed out, but I need to know what spell he used on you."

 _"Sectumsempra._ _" I whisper to her. Her eyes already flooded with worry widen further, but she just starts muttering the counter spell I heard Snape say that time about 2 years ago. I feel a feeling of relief as the pain vanishes in my back, but with that relief also brings a sudden urge to sleep. I'm so done with fighting it, so I let it lull me to a safer place as the Headmistress keeps calling my name in distress._

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Author's Note: I'm sorry again about the later updates. I had the ideas for this chapter down pat, but I had trouble actually writing and I kept expanding it as I was writing. Thanks for all of your support guys. I love the feedback I've been getting, please review! Thanks so much, have a great week y'all. Till next time.


	32. White walls, Interrogation, & Projects

Disclaimer: I do not own the Harry potter franchise, nor anything affiliated with it.

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Hermione's POV

I'm sitting in the hospital wing once more and I find it so weird to be in here as a visitor again. The last time I was a visitor was back in the days of the Golden Trio. Back then, it was usually Ron and I visiting Harry. Now it's just me, waiting for Draco to wake up. It's been less than a day since Harry came to visit, but so much has happened since.

I was apparently revived shortly after McGonagall found us. She woke me up and asked if I knew what happened. I looked around and was shocked to see Ron passed out on the floor, and Draco unconscious and curled up in a fetal position with a huge rip on the back of his shirt, blood everywhere, and bruises on his back. I didn't know what had happened so McGonagall left the questions for later when Ron would be interrogated. She then cast _Incarcerous_ on Ron and sent a Patronus to Professor Slughorn and Professor Flitwick so they could come and deal with Ron. After that she levitated Draco next to her and helped me to the hospital wing.

Madame Pomfrey just did a brief check on me, but I was fine. Draco on the other hand was in a much worse state. Thankfully the curse that was cast back at the airport didn't prevent McGonagall from healing his _Sectumsempra_ wound, otherwise he probably would have died. However he did lose a lot of blood, so Madam Pomfrey had to force feed him a blood replenishing potion. His back still has a lot of bruises that will have to heal naturally, but he also has a fractured rib. That's going to be quite painful but that isn't all of the damage. His right hip was somewhat damaged and the leg itself was dislocated. Because so many injuries were inflicted, they have somehow triggered the curse to extend its reach up to his hips. Now he's going to have even more trouble walking and may never properly heal.

As I sit waiting in this chair next to Draco's bed, I can't help but feel so angry at Ron. I mean, what on Earth happened to him? He was nothing like this in our Hogwarts days. He's become so despicable and he hasn't hit any major repercussions for his actions and attitudes yet. He certainly would have expected it if the situation was reversed and Draco had attacked him. I really hope he receives some punishment for this. He's slowly destroying both mine and Draco's lives. He's already destroyed our friendship as the Golden trio. It's almost like he's this disease that is slowly seeping into my life and crushing it. It's so sad to see one my best friends fall so far.

I'm pulled out of reverie by Headmistress McGonagall. I look up to see her standing in front of me, but it takes a moment for my brain to catch up and process what she's saying.

"Hermione?"

"Sorry, yes?"

"I was just saying that Mr. Weasley is about to be interrogated in the Auror department in London. The department has asked if you would like to be there to hear it. Mr. Potter will be there as well with you, but neither of you will have direct contact with him as you know him fairly well. If something changes in Mr. Malfoy's condition we will send a message to you up there. If you would like to come, follow me to my office. You can use the floo network to get there."

"Um… I think I'll go. As long as Harry's there as well. I don't think I'll be able to listen to Ron if no one else is there." She nods and then continues.

"In that case, please follow me. Feel free to bring your purse, just know that they will have to conduct a brief search of it when you get there in case you're trying to break Mr. Weasley free."

"That's fine." I then get up to follow her out. I take one last glance at Draco and squeeze his hand once before leaving the hospital wing.

The walk to her office is fairly short and it feels so weird to not have to wait or help Draco there. It feels like I'm missing someone. I guess I've gotten used to our slow walks together.

We walk into her office and she pulls out a pouch of floo powder from inside her desk. She then stretches out her arm to let me take some.

"Just say 'Auror Department London'." I nod, throw in the powder, step into the emerald green flames, and yell "Auror Department London!" with as much clarity as possible.

I stumble out of the fireplace when I arrive and brush off the ash from my uniform. I wait for McGonagall to come out which doesn't take very long.

"I'm just here to escort you to them, after that I'll have to return and deal with some issues in the school concerning Mr. Weasley's sudden appearance." She then sighs and starts to lead me down a hallway on our left. After taking a couple more turns and passing various desk spaces and offices, we come to counter similar to that of a hospital's reception desk. We walk up to the man sitting there and he asks if he could weigh our wands. We both hand over our wands as he does this and I take a look around.

The area has black tiled floors and white walls are covered in rough stucco. My mother used to call them 'man-eating walls' as they are very sharp if you fall onto it and can even cut you it you aren't careful. There are two plants next to the counter but they seem out of place in this chamber, which is otherwise bare. I feel like the guard here must get very bored out here and it shows in how he deals with us. He soon hands us our wands back and then asks if he can search my purse. I hand it over to him and he begins to rummage around in it. I cringe as I hear bottles and other items rattle around in there while he does this and I can only think about how it'll be later when I have to re-organize it again.

He hands back my purse and hands the two of us a little plastic badge each. "Go down this hallway on the left and go in the 6th door down. Auror Potter should be waiting there for you."

We follow his directions down the hall and enter that door. Inside, like he said, is Harry wearing his full Auror uniform. He stares at a panel of one-way glass at Ron who is tied to a chair in the interrogation room. Harry looks up to see McGonagall and me and comes over to say hi.

"Headmistress, it's nice to see you again even if the circumstances aren't the best."

"Oh come now, Potter. You can just call me McGonagall, it's not like you're going to school anymore. And yes, it is nice to see you again. Unfortunately however, I do have to leave now to attend to some more business back at the school. I'll have to see you another time."

"Of course, goodbye... McGonagall." She then leaves Harry and I alone, shutting the door behind her. He then turns and addresses me.

"It's so weird calling her Headmistress and even weirder calling her McGonagall to her face. I'm so used to calling her 'Professor'."

"I totally agree with you. Hello by the way."

"Right, hello. Okay, Ron's interrogator will be here in about 5 minutes. I'm so shocked that he attacked you guys in Hogwarts though. He was supposed to be assisting with a mission in Northern England, but it turns out he called in sick that day. At least, that's what the Auror in charge of that mission said."

"That's weird. However we just have to wait a little bit longer and then we can hear the story from Ron himself." He nods and turns to face the glass again. Ron sits in the room quietly and just stares right in our direction, almost like he knows we're here.

"It's so hard seeing him there. He shouldn't be in that chair. What on Earth happened to him that he tried to kill someone? I'd be surprised if he doesn't end up serving some time in Azkaban for this stunt. For goodness sakes, I don't care what our history with Malfoy is, Ron attacked an injured student in a school!" I squeeze Harry's hand because I know exactly what's going through his head right now. The three of us were supposed to be above all of it. We were supposed to be the perfect rays of hope. Now Ron's gone and fallen, what about us. Obviously no one is immune to evil, and it's scary to think what the three of us could accomplish if we all took the easy road like Ron.

We wait quietly for the Auror who's supposed to question Ron arrives. He enters the room that Ron is in and we both snap our heads up in anticipation. We are able to hear them speaking through a spell.

"Auror Ronald Weasley, I'm here to speak with you about what happened at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry on Sunday December 8th at approximately 7:20 and your role in the events that took place thereafter. This will be fairly simple, I'll ask a question and you just have to answer it. At the end of our session you may state any other information or opinions that you want, that were not covered in the direct questioning period. Is that clear?"

"Yes." Ron speaks with a very clipped even tone which unsettles me quite a bit. It doesn't sound right to hear that tone from Ron. He was always so lively when we were kids and was always varying his tone.

"In that case I shall begin. We'll start simple. Yesterday a Ms. Granger and a Mr. Malfoy were walking back from the entrance hall of Hogwarts. On their way back to their room, they were confronted by a man who then proceeded to cast a Stupefy spell on Ms. Granger. He then physically assaulted Mr. Malfoy who was already previously injured in a Death Eater attack 12 days ago. After that, Mr. Malfoy was attacked by the Sectumsempra curse. At around that time, Headmistress McGonagall came across the scene and Stupefied the man responsible. That man according to eyewitness account was you Mr. Weasley. This also backed up with proof that your wand was used to cast both of these spells. Do you deny this accusation?"

"No, I do not." He says in an uninterested tone. It really scares me to listen Ron right now. His indifference just sounds wrong in light of the situation.

"In that case, there are a couple of questions I have to ask you. Were Ms. Granger and Mr. Malfoy your targets or was it just a statement?"

"My target was Malfoy. Hermione was Stupefied to keep her out of the way. I didn't want her to get hurt." I feel even more confused now. It sounds like Ron had honourable intentions, but they were twisted due to some unknown factors.

"How did you know that Ms. Granger and Mr. Malfoy would be there at that time?" I'm curious to know the answer to this as well.

"I found out that Harry would be going to visit them at Hogwarts because he mentioned it to my mum. I decided that Malfoy wouldn't expect me to attack him there so I disillusioned myself and waited outside the school throughout the day till I saw Harry leave. I didn't really know when and where they would be, but I kept an eye on them the whole time. Once Harry left, I followed them and ran ahead at one point." The thoroughness of what he did is shocking. You can tell he put a lot of thought into what he did, and it makes me wonder if it's really Draco or Ron who's the Slytherin now.

"Why did you attack them in the first place, did you and Mr. Malfoy have any history before this incident?" I almost laugh at his question. Of course they had a history, why go through all that trouble to try and assault, if not kill, someone if they didn't have a history?

"Yes, Malfoy and I do have a history. We never liked each other in school and he picked on my best friends. He was a Death Eater and just barely escaped Azkaban. Now he's trying to steal my girlfriend by brainwashing her." When he says this, I feel so guilty. Ron obviously still loves me, but I don't think I could ever love him now. I don't think it was ever going to work. My guess is that all of this stemmed from a broken heart, and no one to pin the blame on.

"In that case since you haven't denied anything that you were accused of, you are hereby charged with two counts of assault including the use of Sectumsempra on a disabled civilian, use of Stupefy on a civilian, use of physical assault on a disabled civilian, neglecting your duties as an Auror, and resisting orders.

You will most likely be sentenced with 6 months in Azkaban for these offences, however we will discuss your sentence and inform you of the final verdict within the next 24 hours. We have provided you with living quarters for the interim where you will be given the appropriate meals. You may also have up to 2 visitors during your stay as well as write 2 letters or make 2 calls or a combination. You are free to leave this room once I undo your handcuffs, though you must follow the guard outside to your room." The interrogator then remove the cuffs and leaves. Ron sits there for a minute rubbing his wrists and then very calmly gets up to go out.

I turn to Harry with sadness in my eyes and a heavy heart. Despite Ron's shortfalls and mistakes, I don't think he quite deserves Azkaban. They may have gotten rid of the Dementors, but it's still an awful place to be. It's even sadder when you see how resigned he is to the fact that he was caught and there is very little that could alleviate or lessen his sentence.

"Well that clears up a bit of information." Harry finally says after we sit there quietly for about 5 minutes.

"Yes it did." I pause for a moment before speaking again. "I had better get going, it's getting late and I don't want to disturb McGonagall too much. Hopefully we can meet up again soon."

"Yes, hopefully. I'll escort you to the floo station so you don't get lost. It's pretty confusing here. I got lost about 5 times my first week here." I laugh as he says this because of how it reminds me of our first year at Hogwarts.

"Thanks Harry, I'm glad to call you my best friend. I really hope that that never changes." As I say those last words I hug him tightly. I don't want my friends to change, I don't think I'll be able to bear it if I lose more of them. I've lost too many loved ones for that. He hugs me back and we stay there for a couple moments.

We release each other and then leave the room. We walk back down the hallways till we get to the station. I grab some powder from the basket by the fire and turn back to say goodbye.

"Bye Harry, I'll see you again sometime soon."

"Bye Hermione, say hi to Ginny for me."

"Will do, bye." I then turn back to the fire and throw in the powder. I step in and yell "Headmistress McGonagall's office, Hogwarts!"

With a woosh I stumble out on the other end into her office and straighten myself out.

"Ah Ms. Granger. I was beginning to worry about where you were. I'm glad I didn't have to send a search party."

"Hello Headmistress."

"You have about 45 minutes if you want to check on Mr. Malfoy before Pomona closes up the hospital wing for the evening." I check my watch and see that she's right. I didn't think that that much time had passed.

"Thank you. Actually I wanted to ask you a question." I'd thought about this quite a bit over the last few days, but I just remembered it.

"Go ahead."

"Well, you haven't found a muggle studies professor right?"

"That is correct."

"Since we're almost at the end of the semester and there isn't too much to do besides review for exams, I was wondering if we could do a final project. We would each work in pairs and research a different unit in the muggle studies curriculum. Then we would present it to the class using some sort of muggle presentation software or technique. You could supervise us, or we could even appoint a prefect for each class in the meantime. That would give you more time, till next semester, to find a new professor and we would still be learning. Exams wouldn't as much of a challenge then."

"That's an excellent idea Ms. Granger. I'll have to discuss this with the other heads of houses first but I'll get back to you by Tuesday at the latest. If we go ahead with your idea, classes will resume for muggle studies on the Wednesday then. If you could perhaps start working on a rubric or project outline and send it to me by tomorrow evening that would be great."

"Thank you very much professor." I say.

"Your welcome."

"Well, I guess I'd best be going now. Good night." I say as I turn to walk out of her office.

"Good night Ms. Granger." I hear her say as I exit.

I walk back to the hospital wing and get there with 10 minutes to spare before Madame Pomfrey is supposed to close up. I pick my way through the beds and find Draco in his usual bed at the back. He's still asleep, but there's a bit more colour in his face than there was when I last saw him. I sit in the chair by his bedside and hold his hand. I cradle it close to my chest and rest my head on it.

"Please wake up Draco. Don't leave me hanging. I need your help and support with a new muggle studies solution. If you skimp out on this, I'll have to deduct marks from your mark." I say in a semi-serious way. I laugh quietly while I just think quietly to myself.

Madame Pomfrey taps my shoulder at some point and I sit up quickly.

"Ms. Granger, I'm going to have to ask you to leave now. It's getting quite late and we should all be getting some sleep."

"Of course, I'll go now." She nods and then walks away. I pick up my purse, which I left on the ground to make more space for me on the chair, and stand up. I turn back to Draco and say good night.

I squeeze his hand once before letting go and leaving the hospital wing to go back to my dorm. My now empty dorm. My dorm that may remain quiet and lonely for the next few days. My dorm that I share with an almost comatose Draco. My dorm that will wait for Draco just like I will.

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Author's Note: I'm sorry about the later updates. I've decided that updates will probably come every other day or so most of the time, with the exceptions of December because it's the Christmas season and I'm kind of busy with plays and stuff, January because of exam prep and exams, and June because of exam prep and exams. For those months, updates will probably closer to 3-4 days. Again, thanks for the support. I love your reviews and the feedback is great. Please review! Have a great week, till next time!


	33. Plans, Verdicts, & Paintings

Disclaimer: I do not own the Harry Potter franchise, nor anything affiliated with it. I also do not own any of the songs featured in this fic, please support the artists and eithher buy the songs themselves or give them like on YouTube.

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Draco's POV

It's been 2 day since I woke up and I should be getting out of this hospital wing this afternoon after classes finish. I put down my pencil and parchment on my side table since I'm finally finished writing the final outline for the muggle studies project. I smile as I remember how Hermione roped me into doing it.

 _I'm sitting up in my bed when Hermione walks in. It's about 12:00 so she's probably just come from lunch. She walks in slowly at first with her head down, but when she looks up and sees that I'm awake she freezes before running over and gives me a huge hug. She squeezes me really tight, so I tap her shoulder to get her to stop._

"I. Can't. Breathe."

She immediately releases me and turns bright red. "Sorry." She squeaks out.

"It's alright." I say slightly out of breath.

 _"What time did you get up today? I came by around 8 this morning to check on you!" She says._

 _"I got up around 9 I think. Madam Pomfrey just finished checking me over so you're timing has worked out pretty well."_

"Okay, that's great. I'm so glad you're finally awake. By the way you're going to have to help me with muggle studies. We've started a new project and you and I are kind of leading it as well as doing it." I'm kind of confused about this so I clarify with her.

"Wait, so McGonagall found a new professor?"

"Not quite. The day after Harry dropped by and you got injured here, I approached McGonagall with an idea on what to do for the rest of the semester because we have a little less than a month before exams if we don't include the winter break and we haven't done any prep whatsoever for it and we're missing almost 5 units of the course!

 _I proposed that all students would pair up and research a particular unit. They would then present it to the class using muggle technology or techniques. Each class would be supervised by the prefect or heads in the class, unless they are in fourth year or younger. If they are in those grades, a prefect or head with a spare period during that time would supervise them. I've been given the job of overseeing the whole project and setting up the rubric. That's due tomorrow if we want to go through with it. I also have to mark the presentations and if I have to do it, you are going down with me."_

"Well then, what have you gotten yourself into, and I guess me as well?" She laughs and shakes her head.

 _"A big mess, but at least we'll have an easier time with exams. I'd hate for the school to all fail an entire course just because we couldn't find someone to teach the course after..." I know what she's referring to of course. It still seems unreal that Professor Carrington actually died that day. I don't think it's fully sunk it yet, and I don't think it ever will. Even if it does, I'm probably too calloused to care as much as I should. I've seen too much death over the last few years for it to impact me as it would have in say second year._

I rest my hand on hers to comfort her. "It's alright Hermione. None of it was your fault, you're experiencing survivors guilt. You did your best, I did mine, even Professor Carrington did hers. However at the end of the day, skill and effort makes no difference in who does and who lives. It's not for us humans to control, because if it was no one would die and the world probably would have ended eons ago.

 _She smiles to herself and teases me. "Are you trying to be philosophical Draco? Or are you just trying to make yourself sound wise? You don't have to pull a Dumbledore on me." I reflect back on my words and realize that it was quite cheesy, but hindsight is 20/20. Suddenly I remember what I was planning to ask her once I saw her._

 _"Hermione, what day is it? I forgot to ask Madame Pomfrey this morning when she did a check-up and I left my bag in the common room when Ron attacked so I don't have my phone."_

 _"Oh! Um... today is Monday, so about 2 days since Harry visited us. Do you want me to bring your bag down for you the next time I visit?"_

 _"Yeah, that would be great. I've spent all morning sitting here and getting bored."_

 _"Alright then, I'll do that. I should be able to get it down to you just after classes." She then pauses, but decides to say something else. "Has Madame Pomfrey told you exactly what effect the incident with Ron has on your physical state?"_

 _"Yes she did. We're looking into possibly getting a type of modified... 'walker' I think it's called. I'll continue to wear my braces, but that way I can lean on it when I'm walking and if we are in a place where we'll have to stand for a while, I can sit on it. It's not that large and is very light and easy to collapse. I can collapse it on the stairs and levitate it up with me. I could even shrink it and put it in my bag. In terms of 'treatment', healing spells still aren't working. She's increased my potion doses and added some extra potions on top of what I have now. I also have to do an extra therapy session on Saturday from 8:30-9. I personally find them kind of pointless and just really tiring, but she insists that they do 'wonders' for you."_

 _"Well then. The walker sounds kind of cool, though I assume you still refuse to use a wheelchair?" I chuckle a little bit when she says the last part._

 _"It took a lot of negotiating for her to even get me to grudgingly agree to use a walker, a wheelchair is out of the question. My pride won't allow it."_

 _"I thought so." We fall into a spell of silence before a question pops into my head._

 _"Hermione, do you have any spare parchment, a pen or pencil, and a rough outline of what you want to do for the muggle studies classes? I just thought of some ideas and I was thinking maybe I could help you plan it out since I have nothing to do here anyway."_

 _She looks up at me and replies. "I do, and that would be wonderful. I've had some rough ideas for due dates, but I haven't quite had enough time to finesse them yet." Then she reaches into her purse and pulls out her folder of parchment and hands me few sheets as well as a pencil, a paper clip, a small folder with the details of the project in it, and copy of the calendar for the school year._

 _I take it from her and place the items on my bedside table. As I do this Hermione checks her watch and quickly gets up. "I'm sorry Draco, but I have to head to class. It starts in just under 4 minutes. It's been really nice and talking and seeing you again. I'll come back before dinner, and I'll have your bag. Bye!"_

 _I then reply more succinctly with a "Bye Hermione!" as she rushes out of the hospital wing._

I'm pulled out of my thoughts when I hear steps coming from the entrance to the hospital wing and I look up to see Hermione walking in. She has a huge grin on her face and she walks over as quickly as possible without running. When she finally reaches me, she starts to speak.

"Finally getting out right?"

"Yeah, I already let Madame Pomfrey do her examination earlier so we're pretty much good to go. I just need to unshrink and then open up my… 'walker' and then we can leave."

"Cool, I finally get to see it." I cringe a bit and then pull it out of my little pouch that I use for shrunken objects. I cast the necessary spell and then open it up. I still feel embarrassed by the fact that I'm using it, but there is no way for me to get out of it. Once it's ready I swing my legs off the bed as gently and as fluidly as possible and push up to standing. I almost fall over since I haven't gotten up much today. I lean heavily on the walker and we both make our way out.

Since most of the students are at dinner, it's pretty quiet and there are few people around to watch me struggle through the halls. We get back to our room with little fuss and while we're getting the portrait open, Blaise appears next to us.

"Hey guys. Hermione, I brought you the two plates of food like you requested." She smiles in gratitude before Blaise then turns towards me. His eyebrows shoot up a bit when he does. "Draco, how are you man? You look like you're 60 years old or something." He says biting back a chuckle.

"Yes, very funny." I say in an unamused tone. I glare at him and he just smirks back.

"Well, I'd better go back down before Pansy comes looking for me. Draco, you better start joining us for meals, she keeps stalking me trying to figure out where you are. She won't leave either Hermione or I alone and it's getting pretty bad." I groan as I realize that I still haven't had time to talk to her like I said I would, but in my defence she was supposed to Owl me with possible meeting times. I really don't want to have to talk to her, in my current state she'll probably be all gooey and talk about how 'it's all the stupid mudblood's fault' or something like that.

"Thanks Blaise, we should be able to join you guys tomorrow. Bye." Says Hermione.

"Bye Hermione, bye Draco, hope you get some good rest before school tomorrow!"

"Bye Blaise." I say as he turns and walks down the hallway, leaving Hermione and I alone again.

We enter our dorm and let the portrait swing shut behind us. I walk over to the couch and practically collapse on it. My legs hurt a lot previously, but it's so much worse now. All my leg joints produce a jolt of pain every time I put weight on them and I constantly think I'm going to collapse in the middle of the hallways. I don't, but I'm still worried that I will one of these days. It's even harder as well because when I breathe too deeply I feel a dull ache in my chest. I have to be very careful to keep my breathing even and as shallow as possible so I don't strain them while they're still healing.

Hermione puts the plates of food on the kitchen counter and then goes up to her room to drop off her binder and textbooks in her room. When she gets down, she sits on her couch to face me.

"So how was your first trip outside the Hospital wing?" She asks.

"It was not as easy as I thought it would be. I'd kind of gotten used to my knees and ankles, but they're even worse than before and I know have the added strain of my hip joints being weak as well. I'd say it's the worse it could ever get, but that's just asking for it. I feel like I'm 80 years old, like Blaise said earlier, in terms of physical state. I can't wait to see what I'll be like when I actually get that old."

"Wow, that's pretty bad. Don't worry, we're working as hard as we can to fix the curse and find a 'cure' to it. We'll find something eventually." She then gets up to bring the food over so we can eat dinner, but while she's up we hear a knock at the portrait. She diverts her path and goes to see who's out there. I can't see anything from where I'm sitting, but I can still hear.

"Oh hello Headmistress, what are you doing here? Is something wrong?"

"Sorry if I'm intruding, but can I come in? I have to talk to both you and Draco in private and I thought this would be the best time and place to do it."

"Of course. Please, come in."

"Thank you."

They both come over to the living room area and Hermione guides McGonagall to one of the couches. She then walks around the coffee table and sits down next to me.

"Hello Mr. Malfoy, how are you doing? Recovering well?"

"Well enough, though I could be better."

"Of course, that's to be expected. Her eyes and tone betray a king of sadness that I would not have thought McGonagall could direct to me. I guess she's still shocked from finding the three of us that day.

"So what did you want to talk to us about?" I ask.

"Well first of all, I think you both did a wonderful job on the creation of the rubric and project outline. Classes for muggle studies started today, and we will begin work on the project by Friday at the latest. Thank you for taking the time to ensure that our students have a complete education. However, what I really wanted to talk to you two about is Mr. Weasley's final sentence." I must say, I'm quite curious to know how they're punishing him. It would be nice for Weaselbee to finally deal with the consequences of his actions.

"They have finally decided that since our Muggle Studies program has managed to lessen blood prejudice by a considerable amount among the students, he is to attend Hogwarts for the second semester. I was quite opposed to the idea at the beginning, and I still am, but there is very little I can do about it. They have given him more restrictions for his time here and they are the following; he will attend classes with the Eighth year, he will have restrictions placed on his wand that prevent him from casting certain spells, he won't be allowed to go to Hogsmeade until he can earn the right to do so, and he will be sent to Azkaban for 6 months after the school year if he cannot prove that his opinions have changed . I wanted to inform you both on this as it will probably affect you two the most. Particularly you Mr. Malfoy."

We fall into an awkward silence. I stare at my hands and think about this. I am quite opposed to him coming here, but like McGonagall said, there is nothing that can be done. It will make my life considerably harder, but there's no point in letting him have that much of a hold on me or my life.

"I just wanted to let you know ahead of time so you aren't surprised when he gets here. He will be placed in the same room as the eighth year Gryffindor boys, and hopefully they'll keep a close eye on him. If either of you have questions or concerns please feel free to Owl them to me and I'll do my best to answer them. I must be off now, have a good evening. I'll show myself out." She then gets up and leaves us sitting on the couch together.

Hermione and I don't talk for a while. At some point she gets up and gets our now lukewarm food from the kitchen counter and sits back down next to me. Eventually we both through unspoken consensus eat our meal in silence. When I'm done with my food, I neatly place it on the table and place the cutlery on the plate as quietly as possible. I'm not quite sure that it's fully sunken in that Weasley will be in the same building as me for almost 5 months. Hermione finishes her food as well and takes both our plates to the sink to wash them. By the time she comes back I've pulled out my laptop to do homework and take my mind of its thoughts.

"Draco, I think I might do my homework in my room tonight. I need a bit of time alone to process everything. Are you going to be okay by yourself?"

"Yeah sure, don't worry." I give her a small smile and she responds in kind.

She then picks up her purse from the couch and goes up to her room. I sit for a while on the couch just staring into space not thinking about anything. I come out of my daze and realize that I just lost about 20 minutes doing that. I decide that I can't concentrate down here and pack up my stuff to take it up to my own room.

When I finally get up the stairs I feel like just listening to sad and depressing music. I open up YouTube and find my sad playlist. One of my favourite ones on it is a song called Birthday Song by Andrew McMahon in the Wilderness. It acknowledges the fact that people do feel sorry for themselves, but we have to keep going and push forward even when we don't feel like it.

 _You can pick yourself up  
_ _You can start walking straight  
_ _Tonight you're the life of the party  
_ _When the bar lights come on at your paper parade  
_ _You don't have to chase down the moon  
_ _'Cause I'll leave the light on for you_

I sit down at my desk with my laptop and check my email. There's only a few emails there and they're just from websites that send out weekly newsletters.

 _It's not your birthday  
_ _And it's not the fourth of July  
_ _Tomorrow's a work day  
_ _You've got a life and a spaceship to fly  
_ _You've got a woman and a beautiful yellow-haired daughter  
_ _Come back to earth, kid  
_ _You know that you can't chase the stars underwater_

I feel like doing something that would express my feelings with this song and pull out a set of coloured inks.

 _You can play all the notes  
_ _You can write all the words  
_ _You headlined in all the big cities  
_ _But when the spotlights are off and the crowds have gone home  
_ _You could be going home too_

I start with a dark blue and use an ink brush instead of a quill. I colour a line across the top and decide to paint a sunset, something relatively simple to start with.

 _It's not your birthday  
_ _This isn't Mardi Gras either  
_ _Tomorrow's a work day  
_ _You've got a life and a spaceship to fly  
_ _You've got a good job and a beautiful yellow-haired daughter  
_ _Come back to earth, kid  
_ _You know that you can't chase the stars underwater_

I slowly make the colours more and more red, by shifting the tone of the colour a little lighter with every horizontal stroke so that it reaches a deep purple.

 _It's not your birthday  
_ _You should be done waking up on the floor  
_ _Come back to earth, kid  
_ _Don't you know you're not a kid anymore?  
_ _You married a good girl  
_ _She gave you this beautiful yellow-haired daughter  
_ _Come back to earth, kid  
_ _You know that you can't chase the stars underwater_

I let the mood of the song guide my colours and soon I have a rough painting of what I was going for. It's not perfect, but it captures my mood well enough. I cast a drying charm on it before closing all of the ink pots and putting all of it away.

 _No, it's not your birthday  
_ _It's not your birthday  
_ _It's not your birthday  
_ _It's not your day  
_ _So blow out your candles  
_ _It's better than letting them burn out_

As the song fades out, I realize that there's a part of the song that I never noticed before. At the very end of the video, you can hear a faint snippet of Amazing Grace. It's an old church hymn that even wizards have heard. It's almost like they wanted to end the sad song with something more hopeful. As I think about it, it's almost like they're trying to say that there's light at the end of the tunnel. Maybe like the song, there's a light waiting for me as well, at the end of my own tunnel of life. Maybe like my painting, the sun is setting but it will rise again someday.

* * *

Author's Note: I'm sorry I went overtime by a day. I realized that I got a bit caught up with the plot and story recently, and decided to put another song in like at the beginning. I hope it was okay, it took me a while to flesh this chapter out properly. Thanks for all of your support guys. Please review and give feedback, I live for it. Have a great week guys, till next time!


	34. Lessons, Presentation, & Meaning

Disclaimer: I do not own the Harry Potter franchise, nor anything affiliated with it.

* * *

Hermione's POV

"Hello, if everyone could please have a seat and stop talking, that would be great. Remember, as a Head I do have the authority to take away, and give, house points."

I look around as the students sit down and push in their chairs. I feel out of place standing in front of my eighth year peers. This is the first lesson that Draco and I will be 'teaching' for muggle studies and we're both pretty nervous. It's so awkward and Draco and I will be present for all the first classes to help the prefects who have to do this as well so we aren't anywhere close to being done. Once people have stopped shuffling around I pull out a folder of handouts for the project.

"Alright if I could have your attention. As most of you know by now, we have not been able to find a replacement muggle studies professor, though we are still looking for one. I personally didn't want to let an entire course go to waste, so I proposed a way for us to gain our credit and NEWT with minimal work for everyone." Most people are listening and some of them, like Blaise and Neville, look intrigued. I take a breath and then continue.

"You may have noticed the tabby cat near the door with a quill and some papers. For those who don't know, that is our Headmistress McGonagall and she has graciously accepted the role of supervising all the muggle studies classes while the Prefects, Draco, and I teach. Draco and I will be responsible for marking all the assignments, though McGonagall will have the final say in your grades." I pull out the handouts of the folder in my arms and start to hand out the packages.

"This is a copy of the project outline as well as a rubric for marking that Draco wrote up for us yesterday. Make sure that you don't lose it, or we'll have to make you another copy and it will waste paper and ink. The project itself is essentially this; you will partner with someone of your choice and choose a unit in the muggle studies curriculum. Depending on how many kids there are total in relation to the number of units, you may have up to 3 students per unit. Draco will now present to you the specifics and examples of potential presentations as well as answer any questions you have."

He then gets up and moves his walker to the front of the class, with his laptop, and sits down on it again. I can see a lot of people staring at his walker and I'm sure many of them are curious to know what happened to him. Draco ignores the stares and starts up his presentation. He started working on it yesterday, but I'm pretty sure he did most of it this morning. He said that he woke up early and couldn't fall asleep again. As I look back at the presentation I realize that he's gotten pretty good at using the internet and Google Drive, it definitely shows in the quality of his work.

"Alright, just to give you time to think about it, I will reiterate the units for you. They are communication, pop-culture and basic entertainment, household appliances, transportation, specific recreational activities and hobbies, work and jobs, politics and government, and muggle world history. We have already covered communication, pop-culture/basic entertainment, and household appliances in class, but the rest were not. They are fairly simple topics and don't have to be completely in depth with the exception of history. Are there any questions so far?"

Neville raises his hand and Draco nods at him. "Are we able to cover a topic that isn't in the curriculum but has a difference in the muggle and wizarding worlds? For example, would I be able to research muggle plants and compare them to wizarding plants?"

"That is an excellent question, you'll have to give me some time to talk it over with Hermione first. In the meantime, think about another unit you may be interested in, just in case we decide against it." Neville nods and returns to reading over the outline.

"Are there any more questions? ...In that case I'll move on with the lesson. You will be doing all of your research for your project online to ensure a basic use of muggle technology. Hermione and I will be giving lessons over the next week on different parts of the project, but other that it's pretty free form. You will have to hand in at least 2 and a half pages of jot notes via Google Docs along with your presentation when this is due. For those notes I will teach you how to cite your sources properly, it is slightly different from when we do so in our essays." I'm surprised by his level of thoroughness. There are a lot of things he's talking about that I didn't even think of myself.

"There are many different ways to present your information in a technological way. They include slide presentations, which we've already learned, but can also include designing websites, shooting a film, and creating a quiz game. Depending on what you choose to do, I have provided links on how to go about executing it. We'd prefer it if you could include some interactive component as most people are hands on learners, but make sure that not all of it is interactive. It'll make it easier to mark if you have both. If you have any other presentation ideas, feel free to run them by either Hermione or me. We'll most likely approve them as long as they're safe and not beyond your resources."

He continues on for a little bit longer and shows them small examples of each type of presentation. Most of them are examples from other people, but some of the simpler ones like website building were created by him. I can't believe that he actually had the time to do all of this, even if he woke up early this morning. He seems to have really good spacing skills in his presentation and, as was proven during the Halloween Ball, a good eye for colour.

When he's finished he looks at me and signals that it's my turn to talk again. I walk back in front of the desk and face the class once again. Draco gets up and slowly makes his way back to his spot from earlier. I smile in sympathy at him and he shoots a mock glare at me. I turn back to my peers and begin to talk once more.

"If you guys have an idea of what unit you want to do, take out your electronic devices and search for Google Classroom. When you reach the website, click the plus sign in the top right corner. Enter to following code: M4rb3. That will take you to a virtual classroom that Draco and I created for this project. It is shared with all of the muggle studies students and is an easy way for us to give you resources and post assignments for you guys. There should already be a post on it. If you click the link on it, it will direct you to a Google Doc that you can use to sign up for the different units. It's on a first come first serve basis, but if it's ful and you want to be on a waitlist, you can write your name in italics."

I leave the class to do this task by themselves and walk over to Draco.

"Hey, how are you doing so far? Your legs giving you a lot of trouble?" He looks up from his notebook and closes it quickly, but smoothly.

"Oh, they're okay but it still isn't great when I walk around."

"Your presentation was amazing by the way. It was very thorough and well articulated. I think the examples were great."

"Thanks, but the idea of the project came from you in the first place. I think this will be a great project. Our classmates are pretty creative, they should do well with this."

"I hope so. I don't want all of this work to be for naught. I really hope that they'll all do well on the exams." The whole aim of the project is to help them study for the final exams. If most of them don't pass, then my project failed.

"What do you think about letting Neville research plants? I think it's an okay idea, but it's a little off topic."

"Neville seems pretty excited to study muggle plants and I don't think it'll do any harm. Just add an extra box for muggle plants on the list."

"Okay… and it's done."

We chat a little bit more about the project before he pulls out his laptop to check on the list. It seems that everyone has chosen their unit and its worked out pretty well. There just happens to be a free unit that no one's signed up for, so we both sign up for it. Our project won't be marked by us, but by McGonagall. He then projects it up on the smartboard and I go up again to clarify the list with the class.

"So it looks like you've all chosen your units. I'm just going to review the list and who you're working with. For communication we have Blaise and Dean. For pop-culture and basic entertainment we have Amalie and Justin. For household appliances we have Anthony and Hannah. For transportation we have Draco and I. For specific recreational activities and hobbies we have Cho and Terry. For work and jobs we have Padma and Tracy. For politics and government we have Zacharias and Michael. For muggle world history we have Pansy and Millicent. For muggle plants we have Neville and Ernie."

"Is everyone okay with that listing?" They respond with a chorus of 'yes's and a couple nodding heads. It's so weird to command the attention of people my own age. It just feels wrong.

"Okay, feel free to start your research. We have about 10 minutes left of class so you probably won't get much done. However, you can still start while of this is fresh in your mind. Make sure you record the URLs of the websites you use, even if you don't know how to cite them yet."

I then turn off the smartboard, pack my papers into my folder, and sit down next to Draco.

"Well that went relatively smoothly. What did you think of it all?" I ask.

He takes a moment to respond. "I thought it went rather well, but their stares were quite annoying. Other than that, it was kind of nice to talk and actually have the class listen to you." I know what he's talking about. Whenever we present stuff in class, half the class doesn't pay attention, and most of them whisper while you're talking.

"Agreed." Just then the bell rings and everyone packs up their stuff to head out. I help Draco place his folders and laptop in his bag while he gets up and walks with the walker. We make our way to the back and McGonagall turns back into human form.

"That was wonderful. I think you both did a wonderful job teaching today. Draco, your handle on technology is excellent and you seem very well versed in it. I'm very pleased with both of your work for this school and its students. Just remember to come back after lunch to help teach the sixth and seventh year students. Hopefully both groups will be as good as the one we just had."

"Thanks Headmistress. We'll try our best." I say. Draco nods and gives a small smile to her.

"I know you will." She responds. "See you soon." She then returns to her work, so Draco and I walk out to the hallway. We walk down to the Great Hall immediately since we don't need to switch out our books. We sit with our friends like usual and they make room for us. Draco takes a bit of time to sit down, but we know he's too prideful to let us help him.

"Hey guys how are you doing?" I ask them.

"We're good." says Blaise.

"You guys did amazing this morning, the examples in the presentation we great! I have lots of ideas on what to do already." says Neville. I'm glad he's so excited.

"Yeah, I didn't know you could make websites Draco." Blaise adds. He actually looks pretty impressed.

"Well if you're good at figuring stuff out, it's not that hard. Especially if you use a good program with templates and you know what you want or need.

"Wait, Ferret is teaching? And he did well? How come I didn't hear about this?" says Ginny. She has an incredulous expression on her face and I feel like laughing at it. She hasn't been here that much the last few days since she had to finish some last minute projects, and when she was here we didn't really talk much about it.

"Yes, and his knowledge of muggle presentation techniques is really cool. I didn't think that he knew that much about it." says Blaise.

"Well I did look up most of the stuff this morning and used some templates for the harder stuff like making a movie. Other than that though, I did most of my research while in the hospital wing. But yes I am teaching... Weaselette" responds Draco. That all makes a lot more sense seeing as how he had a lot of time there, though he didn't spend too much time in that area. I can't help but roll my eyes at Draco and Ginny teasing each other with the usual insults.

"Right. Speaking of which, what happened to you? I'm pretty confused and no one knows anything except you two, Madame Pomfrey, and McGonagall. Ginny knows a little bit, but refuses to tell me what she knows." Blaise seems really confused but I hold my tongue since I don't want to divulge too much.

"Well, Ron basically attacked me and the curse that was previously just affecting my knees and ankles spread to my hips as well. The injuries from him must have lowered my body's defences and allowed the curse to progress further. My only options to help get around were this or a wheelchair. I took the least obvious one, though I still get stares."

"Wow. That is most impressive. I'm sorry the curse spread. If you need, the moon is bright tonight and the window in the corridors should be clear." says Luna. I'm confused by what she says, but I think it's a reference only Draco and her will get.

I check the time and see that it's almost the end of lunch so I tell them and we all pack up for our next classes. Luna, Ginny, Draco, and I travel back to muggle studies together and walk into class. Draco and I ready to teach the next bunch of kids.

* * *

Author's Note: This is a bit of a boring chapter, but such is life. Thanks for the reviews and feedback, it's nice to hear from you guys. Thank you all for your continual support of my work, it means a lot. Just 12 more days till Christmas, yay! Please review. Have a great week guys, till next time.


	35. Drowning, Clarification, & Traditions

Disclaimer: I do not own the Harry Potter franchise, nor anything affiliated with it. I also do not own any songs used in this fic, all rights to those songs belong to the artists, go support their work on Youtube, Spotify, or other music platforms.

* * *

Draco's POV

I jolt awake to searing pain in my back and chest. Sectumsempra leaves minimal physical damage when properly healed. However I still experience ghost pains when I've had a particularly tiring day. I have yet to tell Hermione, but I don't plan on doing so anytime soon. She spends so much time worrying about my health and wellbeing that I worry how much time she spends worrying about her own.

I shift into a sitting position and carefully pull my legs up to my chest. Using one hand to massage my back, I use the other to rub my forehead.

As I sit in the silence and darkness of my room, I try to remember my dream.

 _I'm sitting on the edge of a rock by the lake. The surface of the water has a crystalline look to it, and there are birds chirping all around me. I'm dangling my legs over the edge with relative ease. My legs feel so strong and pain-free. I reach down to touch the water and feel the cool edge to it. When I retract me hand I see the reflection of the sky turn to grey as clouds start form. They are dense and cast gloomy feel over everything._

 _I get up to leave before it rains, but suddenly the rock starts to shake as cracks form on the surface. They are deep and black, and the gaping lines start to move towards where I stand. I back up to the edge of the rock but slip and fall down into the water. It's bitterly cold and I can't tell which way is up or down. Rocks start to fall into the water and pin me down to the bottom of the lake. I start to drown and water starts to fill my lungs when I wake up._

It was really unsettling overall, but what really got me about the dream was how it felt to not have to deal with my problems. I didn't have to face the ever constant pain in my legs during my dream until the very end. Almost like when I chose to ignore all my pain and problems when I was younger. Then when I grew up, they hit me in the face and smashed me to the ground. They overwhelmed me and I was drowning. Someone saved me from the fate of actually drowning, but it's taken some time for me to realize that I was very close to not coming back out of the whole I'd dug for myself. Even now I find it hard to pull myself up and out every day.

I shake those thoughts away and look at my watch to see what time it is. It reads 3:29 and I groan. It's a little to early to wake up, but I also won't be able to sleep properly till morning. Then I realize that it's actually Saturday so I can afford to sleep in.

I pull out my phone and send a quick text to Hermione that I'll be waking up later and to go to breakfast without me. One of the great things of having a phone is that I can send a message to my friends without getting up and writing a letter and having it delivered via owl. I then place my phone on the table and fall into a dreamless sleep.

* * *

When I wake up later, I feel a lot calmer this time and I feel more rested than I have all week. I check the time and see that its 8:30. Most people would call that a normal morning, but for me that's a sleep in.

I go to the bathroom and brush my teeth quickly. While I'm there I decide to take my shower tonight instead of the morning since its later than usual. I get dressed in some more casual clothes, since it's the weekend, but of course they aren't scruffy either. I then grab my bag and walker and head down to the Great Hall.

I'm almost to the hall when I hear someone run up towards me. I turn around to see Pansy standing next to me. I groan inwardly but I also know that I've been avoiding talking to her for about 3 and a half weeks.

"Hi Pansy, did you want to talk to me about something?"

"Yeah actually I did. We never got to talk after that day when I asked if we could, if that makes any sense."

"It does."

"Okay, well I was wondering if we could talk now before we delay any further. It doesn't have to be for very long."

"Alright, as long it doesn't take too long."

"Do you mind if we talk in a more private place? I don't quite feel comfortable talking in this open hallway."

"As long as we keep the door open. I don't want either of us getting in trouble because someone made assumptions." We find an empty classroom and leave the door open a jar but cast a muffliato spell to prevent someone from listening on the conversation without our consent. I sit down on my walker and she leans sits on a desk across from me.

"So how are you doing Draco?"

"I'm doing okay, though I could be better. I can tell you're itching to ask about it so I'll just tell you. I got injured during the muggle studies trip at the airport which was worsened last week because Weasley ambushed me on the weekend."

"Oh no that's terrible Draco!" I'm glad she doesn't try to use a weird 'cute' nickname for me. "It's just so weird to see you as fragile as this. You usually send a very strong and powerful image." I give her a mock glare because she's bruising my ego, however she is right.

"Yes well, you wanted to ask me some other questions right?" I'm getting a little annoyed because I can't leave till she's done, but she's beating around the bush.

"Right, well I wanted to know why you're hanging around the Mudblood so much." Her tone of voice has a certain emotion in it that could only be described as jealousy.

"I hang around Hermione" I say as I shoot a pointed look at her but she pretends to not notice it. "because she's my girlfriend and even if she wasn't she's my best friend as well. She is my peer, and she deserves to be respected like everyone else. She is a wonderful person and has been very kind and patient with me and my many problems."

Pansy doesn't even bother to hide the look of disgust on her face despite what I just told her about my opinions.

"How can she be nice though, she's scum! She doesn't deserve her magic. She certainly doesn't deserve your love…" She realizes then, that she revealed a little bit too much of her motives. I wait for a bit then ask her something.

"Pansy, be honest with me. Are you jealous of her? I don't mean in terms of brains or looks or anything like that, I mean in terms of love. Are you jealous because I haven't spent a lot of time with you, because I ignore you and hang around her all the time?" She doesn't answer immediately, but after a few moments.

"I loved you, you know? I still do." She's looking at her hands now and fiddling with them. Her voice is really quiet. "Do you know what it's like loving someone with all of your soul and heart, but not having any of that affection returned? Do you know what it's like to love someone and have them slam all the doors in your face? Do you know what it's like to care for someone and have them ignore you and then spend time with another person instead of you? Do you? I've loved you since we first met Draco, I've loved you ever since you let me into your elite circle of friends in first year, but you still shut me out."

By this point I can see tears brimming in her eyes, and she's starting to choke up. I can tell she isn't faking it or something, this is obviously rooted in something very deep and it's going to be awful trying to sort this out.

"I'm so sorry Pansy, I really am but I don't love you. I won't deny that I don't even really like you very much, because I believe that you deserve to know where my feelings for you lie. You deserve to know exactly where I stand on this matter. You'll hurt a lot after this, trust me, but please understand that if I had known about this before I would have done my best to avoid leading you on. I'm sorry I hurt you like this. Maybe at some point we can become friends again, but I don't think we'll ever become more than that."

She's now choking on her sobs and I reach my hand over to give her a handkerchief. She grabs it with one hand and latches onto my arm with the other. She cries into my sleeve so I try as hard as I can to walk over to her and sit next to her. She leans on my arm and lets it all out. I try to comfort her, but soon just give up and let her relieve her battered emotions. She slowly calms down a bit and just breathes slowly with the occasional hiccup every now and then.

"Draco, thank you for being honest with me. I can at least appreciate that. It'll take some time to get over this, but I'm glad you were honest and weren't mean about it. Thank you for waiting for me to calm down, this means a lot to me. Maybe I'll see you around." She then gets up and leaves the room. I'm left feeling a little confused in all honesty about what just happened. I accio my walker and get up to see if I can grab any leftover food from the Great Hall. As I walk over I bump into Hermione.

"Oh there you are! I was wondering where you'd gotten to. I saved you a roll and some butter as well as a lemon scone." She then places them in my bag for me and makes sure they are well wrapped in napkins to avoid getting my stuff dirty.

"Thanks Hermione. I just had to talk to Pansy for a bit and sort some stuff out between us."

"Really? How'd that go?" I notice she becomes a little suspicious and tense when she says this so I try and alleviate any concerns that she has.

"Don't worry, we didn't do anything. I just explained that I wasn't interested in her and made sure she was okay before she eventually left. We sorted out the mess between us that I didn't even know existed."

"Oh okay." She relaxes a bit, but still seems a bit upset.

"So what do you want to do today? We have relatively few things to do since we don't have much homework and there's no Hogsmeade today."

"How about just going back to our room and playing some games. Just the two of us. We can play the card games and board games from last week, or we could also take a nap at some point to recover from this week."

"That's a great idea. I can eat my food there as well." We then head back to our room and enter through the portrait like usual. I sit down on the couch and she goes to grab a couple games. She comes down with them, but also with a small blue box thing and her phone.

"I figured we could listen to some music at the same time. It won't be very loud, but will add a bit of background noise so it doesn't get ridiculously silent at random points."I nod and open up the box for Monopoly. I set up the board while she selects a playlist on her phone.

"I call banker." I say. I like being in charge of the money and property cards because it means I have to pay attention to everything that's going on and it makes it easier to make decisions on my turn.

We spend about an hour and a half going back and forth in our game of Monopoly. It gets pretty intense and there are many close calls. However, in the end I win with $5,043 and Hermione is bankrupt.

"Do you want to play UNO now?" She asks me. I'm a little confused at first because I can't quite remember which game that one is. "The card game with the four colours and the numbers and actions?"

"Oh right, sure." She then deals out the cards and I organize mine be colour then value.

"Do you want to play with points? That way we can do a tournament."

"Sure, what's the point system?"

"Whoever wins gets the other person's cards. The number cards have the face value, the three coloured action cards are worth 20 points, and the black switch the colour cards are worth 50 points each."

"Okay. Are you starting or am I?" I ask.

"You can start." I then play a blue 2 on top of the first card which is a red 2. We play for quite a bit, but in the end Hermione wins with 705 points. I lost with 698 points. It was an extremely close tournament and we spent a good hour or so playing. While she was counting out her points for the last round I start to yawn quite a bit.

"Are you feeling tired?" She asks me.

"A little bit, what about you?" In truth I'm actually very tired, but I don't want to make her feel like I'm not interested in spending time with her.

"I'm kind of tired since I haven't gotten too much sleep recently. I've spent a lot of time stressing about this muggle studies project. I don't want anyone to fail this class." I understand her concerns and I know that she'll stress over it even more than most people because she's Hermione.

"How about we take a nap? Just sleep on the couches since they're pretty big. We can keep your playlist running quietly in the background as opposed to us both listening to playlist with our earbuds. That way we'll use less battery and there's less of a chance of our phones falling off the couch. We have quite a bit of time till dinner anyway and breakfast was kind of later today."

"Sure, I'll just switch to a less peppy playlist." She reaches over to her phone and switches it, then she puts it down on the table between us. We both lie down on our couches and I adjust my cushions under my head and knees to support my legs properly. I close my eyes and focus on the song that's playing. It's actually a really nice song so I quietly reach over to her phone to see what it's called and who it's by so I can find it later. It's called Autopilot by Kodaline.

 _Tell me  
_ _Tell me that you want me  
_ _And I'll be your completely  
_ _For better or for worse_

 _I know  
_ _We'll have our disagreements  
_ _Be fighting for no reason  
_ _I wouldn't change it for the world_

 _'Cause I know  
_ _The first day that I met you  
_ _I was never gonna let you  
_ _Let you slip away_

 _And I Still  
_ _Remember feeling nervous  
_ _Trying to find the words to  
_ _Get you here today_

 _'Cause you make my heart feel like it's summer  
_ _When the rain is pouring down  
_ _You make my whole world feel so right when it's wrong  
_ _That's why I know you are the one  
_ _That's how I know you are the one_

 _In life  
_ _It's easy to get scared oh  
_ _But with you I am prepared for  
_ _What has yet to come_

 _'Cause our two  
_ _Hearts will make it easy  
_ _Joining up the pieces  
_ _Together making life_

 _'Cause you make my heart feel like it's summer  
_ _When the rain is pouring down  
_ _You make my whole world feel so right when it's wrong  
_ _That's why I know you are the one  
_ _That's how I know you are the one_

 _When we are together you make me feel like my mind is free and my dreams are reachable  
_ _Woah  
_ _You know I never ever believed in love, I believed one day you were gonna come along_

 _Free me_

 _'Cause you make my heart feel like it's summer  
_ _When the rain is pouring down  
_ _You make my whole world feel so right when it's wrong  
_ _That's why I know you are the one  
_ _That's why I know you are the one_

 _That's why I know you are the one  
_ _That's why I know you are the one_

I try to sleep as much as possible, but I just can't relax enough to do it. Instead I just lie on the couch and stare at the ceiling trying to make shapes and patterns with lines that appear when you look at something for too long. I soon fall into a bit of a mindless trance, but not quite anything restful. After about an hour, Hermione wakes up and I roll over to get up.

"How did you sleep?" I ask.

"Pretty well. How about you?"

"It was okay." I can tell she doesn't believe me but she doesn't press any further.

"I was wondering if you wanted to go down to the lake? I know it won't be so easy with your legs but it's really nice weather tonight and we're allowed to do it as Heads."

"Sure, it's not too far. Though we should probably stop by the kitchens on the way there and grab some sandwiches or something to eat dinner down there."

"That's a great idea, I'll head down and grab the food. How about we meet in the foyer?"

"Okay, I'll see you there." She then leaves the room and shuts the portrait behind her. I grab my bag and unshrink my walker. When I get near the exit of our room I turn around and summon a fairly large blanket from the common room area. I place it in my bag after shrinking it to the size of a handkerchief. I then get out through the portrait and walk down to the front entrance. Somehow I manage to get there before Hermione, so I sit on the stairs while waiting. She soon arrives and we walk out together with her holding a small basket of food and me following behind her.

We walk down to the lake and it feels kind of weird since I had a dream about the lake just this morning. We choose to sit on one of the tree covered patches and watch the sunset. The water has a beautiful golden colour as it reflects the sun and it reminds me of the golden flecks in Hermione's hair and eyes when the sun is just right. We lean against each other in the shade of our tree and start to eat some of the sandwiches Hermione brought down from the kitchens. We watch as a flock of geese swoop down and start to swim in the lake. Suddenly they fly away squawking and we see a tentacle reach up from below the water. We both start to laugh at this, and Hermione almost chokes on a small piece of a tuna sandwich because of this.

"That was hilarious, we rarely see any action from the squid most of the time." Hermione says. I nod at her with a grin on my face. We watch the sun fade behind the hills as the last rays of light melt away into the darkness of the night sky. The sky soon changes again as the stars start to appear and with the moon, illuminate the darkness around us. Since the sun went down a while ago, it's gotten chilly so I pull out the blanket and wrap it around both of us. We sit there and watch the stars twinkle and the lake shimmer in the moonlight.

"Have you thought about what you're doing for the Christmas break?" I ask Hermione at some point.

"No, not too much. I'm probably just going to stay here at the castle since there's no one waiting for me back home." She keeps her voice steady and her face neutral, but I can see the tears starting to well up behind her eyes and the pain hiding inside.

"I'm probably going to stay here as well. I don't really want to stay by myself at the Manor with just Bipsy for company. Even though my parents never spent much time with me, at least they were still there during my time away from Hogwarts. They were in the building and I knew it wasn't just me. This however would be too much for me."

"Yeah, I couldn't bear it being alone on Christmas after all the years I had celebrating tradition with my mum and dad."

"What did you guys have for your Christmas Eve dinner?" I ask her.

"We usually had a turkey, but it was pretty special the way we did it. My dad had this weird recipe that he would make every year. He would stuff it with stuffing and bacon bits. Then he'd layer bacon on top, several layer of it mind you, and then drizzle honey all over it. Then he'd cook it at a lower setting for a longer period of time so that the flavour would all seep in. Then we'd usually have it with asparagus since I really dislike brussel sprouts, and mashed potatoes with onion. Sometimes if my mom had time, she'd also make her special cream cheese topped portobello mushrooms. They were so juicy. What about you?"

"Well, Dobby used to make a really nice ham stuffed with mashed potatoes and covered in stuffing. It was pretty cool and I remember one time he also made Yorkshire pudding and I took my food and stuffed it inside of it to make a kind of sandwich. I got in trouble with my father because it wasn't polite and I touched my food with my hands instead of cutlery. Then Dobby would also make an apple pie and vanilla ice cream."

"That's pretty cool. It sounds like Dobby was pretty nice to have around."

"Yeah he was great. Sometimes he was really fun and used to get the job of babysitting me. We used to play lots of games and he thought it was great. Then one day my father decided to re-assign him to being his personal servant and I lost one of my best friends."

"Wow, I didn't know that."

"What happened to Dobby anyway? Last I saw, he got you guys out of the manor back in our seventh year." I say.

"Well… when he got us out, he got hit by Bellatrix's dagger just when he disapparated. When we got to our destination he'd started losing a lot of blood and he died before we could heal him."

Her reply shocks me.

"Oh. I was hoping he was still alive somewhere."

"Yeah he was great." Says Hermione.

We lapse into silence for a little bit before Hermione gets up and pushes off the blanket. She then packs up the basket of food and grabs her purse.

"We should probably pack up and head back to the castle before rounds." I nod and get up after rolling up the blanket. We walk back to the castle together and do a quick patrol instead of just one of us doing it. We get back to our room and being to head to our own bedrooms.

"Good night Hermione." I say.

"Good night Draco, try to get some sleep." She says to me.

"I will, don't worry." I then walk up the stairs to my bedroom and shut the door behind me as quietly as possible.

* * *

Author's Note: I'm sorry for the late update again, this is becoming a habit now. The turkey recipe that Hermione's dad uses is actually this one I head in a sermon. It was really funny at the time because the guy also used to name his turkey's based on how they tasted. Thans for your support guys, it means a lot to me. Please review and give feedback. Have a great week, till next time.


	36. Last Day, Surprises, & Friends

Disclaimer: I do not own the Harry Potter franchise, nor anything affiliated with it.

* * *

Hermione's POV

It's the last day of school before the Christmas break and everyone is pretty relaxed. Draco and I wait while our classmates file into the classroom and sit down at their seats.

Since it's the last day, we're mostly just going to have research day with a little bit to clarify some confusing bits of the project. I clap my hands to get their attention once I think they've settled down. While I start to talk, Draco quickly takes attendance since knows our class pretty well and doesn't have to call out names to know who's missing.

"I know there's a bit of confusion as to what you need to hand in for the project and when they're due, so I made a calendar for you guys with all the details. I'm just going to review it verbally for those of you who I know won't actually go through the document.

By January 20th you will hand in your presentation, preferably with sources listed in the presentation at the end or as a separate document on the same day. Presentations will be held from the 21st to the 27th and I will eventually get you guys to sign up for when you want to present. You also need to hand in a set of jot notes on your topic by January 15th. We will use them to create the exam study packages so it would be better for the you and the whole class if they are thorough. You don't have to include all the information in your unit in your presentation. The exam study packages will be handed out January 20th, the same day your projects are due, and the exam itself will take place on the 30th during your usual classroom time slot."

I then divide my stack of calendars and pass them down the tables for the students to pass out to each other.

"Are there any questions?" I ask the class. When no one raises their hand, I continue on. "In that case, you can use the rest of the period to do research for the project and work on it. You have about 1 hour left so get to it!" They all turn to their partners and get to work. I walk over to Draco who is sitting by the desk behind me.

"Do we have any idea what we're going to do for this presentation?" I ask Draco.

"Not really, though I did have a couple of ideas based on similar project examples I found while creating this project." He answers while pulling out his laptop. I sit down next to him, pull out my own, and log on.

"Let's create a document to brainstorm ideas and then narrow them down when we have a decent amount of them." I say. He nods and then I get a notification that he's already shared the document. I open the document and add my own ideas to it while Draco does the same. I then create a table with the ideas. We work on the project till the bell rings. I dismiss the class and we pack up to go to lunch.

The rest of the day is a blurr. We spend most of the classes doing light school work, or just messing around. I kind of feel bad for making the class do work this morning, but they didn't seem to mind that much and we're a month behind. When Draco and I finally head up to our dorm to drop our binders and textbooks off, he asks me if we can take a detour before dinner.

"Sure, as long as we get to eat some food at some point this evening." I reply

"Great, we have to just stop by McGonagall's office. She asked if we could stop by, though she said we should get changed into more comfortable clothes before coming." It sounds a little suspicious, but I do as he says.

We head up to McGonagall's office and enter after knocking.

"Ah, Ms. Granger, Mr. Malfoy. I was wondering if you could do me a favour. I have to pick up a collection of antique books for the library from an old friend. There are quite a few and I have to be going to the feast to do a speech soon. I wanted to know if you could retrieve them for me and just leave them by my desk. I'll take you there by side along apparition just so you know what to visualize the next few times you do it."

"Sure, we'd love to."

"Wonderful. Mr. Malfoy take my hand, Ms. Granger take Mr. Malfoy's hand."

We do as she says and I feel the familiar tug of apparition. However just before we leave, I see McGonagall let go of Draco's hand. I guess that means Draco is guiding us since I know I'm not. I start to panic about what's going to happen to us if we don't know where we're going. Just before I do however, my feet touch solid ground and I let out a sigh of relief. That is short lived however, as I look at my surroundings and see that we are just in front of a gate.

We seem to be on the threshold of a large house or mansion and I quickly recognize it as Malfoy Manor. I turn to Draco and see that he's checking his watch and muttering something under his breath.

"Draco, what are we doing here? Why did McGonagall let go of your hand? What's going on?" I ask him.

He turns to me and answers. "Just trust me okay? It's a surprise." He then starts walking to the Manor and I walk with him down the cobblestone path. We make the journey in silence, but thankfully it doesn't take long to get to the door. We walk up the step to the door and Draco knocks on it. It opens to Bipsy's smiling face.

"Master, Bipsy has everything all set up and ready." I turn to Draco again in a questioning way.

"Has what set up?" He just tells me to wait a little while longer. We step in and Bipsy leads us down the main hallway. There are beautiful landscape paintings hung on the walls and many sculptures on little tables in between the paintings. It seems a lot more vibrant than when I was here during the war. It seems so long ago, back when I was tortured by my, now, boyfriend's crazy aunt. I was worried I might have a panic attack being back in this house. However it's so much different from when I was here that I seem to be alright, though I'm not the most comfortable.

We enter a door on the left side about halfway down the hall. The door is wooden and covered in ornate carvings, but painted a soft cream colour to match the light blue of the walls.

"Surprise!" I hear. I look at the table in the middle of the room and see the grinning faces of all of my friends, Luna, Neville, Blaise, Ginny, and Harry. I turn back to Draco and see him looking at me with a great big smirk on his face. I quickly step over and hug him; almost knocking him, and his walker, over in the process.

"Hi guys." I say to my friends in a slightly breathless voice. "What are you guys doing here?"

"Draco owled all of us and asked if we could come out for a dinner at the Manor. It was going to be a surprise for you." says Ginny in a very matter of fact way.

"He even got permission from McGonagall for us to leave early." adds Blaise.

"Well are we going to actually eat or are we just going to stand around talking? I don't know about the rest of you, but I'm starving." Says Harry with a mock bored expression. We all laugh at his interruption and Draco smirks at him.

"Well you can't always get what you want Potter. Even the Chosen One has to wait a bit and have some patience." We laugh even harder at that and I find the playful banter to be pretty nice to listen to. If only it was like this when we were younger. Instead the teasing was mean and could be very hurtful at times.

"Having said that, it is almost 6 o'clock. Bipsy, can you bring out the food for us?" Draco asks.

"Yes Master!" She squeaks before running off to get the food. She returns levitating all sorts of food, and places it in the middle of the table. She then snaps her fingers and dishes appear on the table. While she does this, Draco and I sit down at our seats. Bipsy then grabs a bottle of sparkling apple juice and pours us each a glass of it.

I look at the spread of food and marvel at the variety. A closer look at it makes me realize that the bacon covered turkey, the asparagus, the onion mashed potatoes, and the portabello mushroom dishes are all there. I realize that Draco is trying to make me feel as comfortable as possible with this holiday since it brings back a lot of emotion. I smile at him from across the table and mouth the words 'thank you' at him.

Luna starts to hum a song I recognize as 'Love is All Around' from the really old muggle film 'Love Actually'. I mock glare at her and she just gives me her trademark innocent smile in return.

We eat and talk for at least 2 hours. It's a lot of fun and the food is wonderful. Somehow Bipsy was able to capture all the flavours I used to taste when I had it with my family. It tastes exactly like it's supposed to and it makes me feel so much more comfortable about the season. After a while when everyone is done with their food, we move to a sitting room one door over and sit huddled close as a group by the fireplace. At around 8:30, Bipsy comes by with a tray of hot chocolate and tea cakes. We scoff the cakes and slowly sip our hot chocolate after adding candy cane pieces and cream on top. By the time everyone has to leave it's about 10 o'clock.

Harry goes home with Ginny since they are both staying at the burrow for the Christmas season. Blaise, Luna, and Neville all floo back to Hogwarts since we're all staying there over the break. Draco and I stay a little longer to help Bipsy clean up and put stuff back to their original spots. We finish pretty quickly since most of the stuff was already done before and because Bipsy had lots of experience using magic to do it and knew a lot of handy spells for the job. It doesn't take very long for us the be standing in front of the fireplace preparing to floo to McGonagall's office.

While we're about to leave, I turn to Draco. "Thank you so much for this evening. I had a blast and I feel much better going into this Christmas season. I had so much fun and I really enjoyed this time."

"You're welcome, maybe we should make this a tradition since most of us no longer have parents to spend the holidays with. I thought it would be a good way to end the calendar year." He says with a very genuine smile.

"Well it was amazing. Thank you again, you did an amazing job here."

"Well we should probably leave now." He says and I nod.

Then I take a handful of floo powder and throw it into the fire. As I step into the emerald flames, I wonder what I did to deserve such wonderful and amazing people and friends in my life.

* * *

Author's Note: This is just a shorter chapter for you guys before Christmas. Sorry it's not the best in terms of length, but it's hard to right lengthy scenes that are happy as well. I'll try to get one up for boxing day, but no promises. Go spend time with your families if you can, or just enjoy this time of year before the next one hits us in the face like usual. Thanks for all of your support guys, I love reading your reviews. Please review and send feedback. Have a great weeks guys, Merry Christmas, Hannukkah, and Kwanza for those who celebrate it. Till next time!


	37. Snowballs, Pies, & Broomsticks

Disclaimer: I do not own the Harry Potter franchise, nor anything affiliated with it.

* * *

Draco's POV

I laugh and duck behind a pile of snow before I can get hit by another snowball. Hermione managed to convince me to come outside with the rest of our friends for a snowball fight, but I think I might be regretting it now. I just got pelted by about 3 snowballs, all coming from Blaise. Just before they hit me, I caught a glimpse of his smirk from the corner of my eye. I carefully take my gloves off and mold a medium sized ball and make sure to use the heat of my hands to create a thin layer of ice around it. I compact a little harder and make sure it's almost completely solid. Then using my peripheral vision, I turn, stand up and whip it at Blaise's chest. By the 'oomph' I hear from his direction, I assume it hit its target. I smirk quietly to myself but then realize that I'm still exposed to all of the rest of the people we're playing with. I sit down as quickly as I can to prevent myself from getting hit, but I'm pretty sure Luna landed a hit on my shoulder before I could.

It's around midday right now and the sky is a bright blue to complement the stark white of the snow. It's supposed to snow more later, but I don't see how that's going to happen with no clouds in sight. I stick my head out a bit to take a peek at where everyone else is and narrowly miss a snowball aimed right at my head. I frown to myself since we had explicitly said at the beginning that no 'headshots' were allowed.

Being outside is really nice at this time of year because if you dress right, the frigidness of the air can be very refreshing. I stretch my legs out and massage my knees absentmindedly. One of the other nice things about the cold is that my legs feel more numb and it relieves a lot of the aches and pains in them.

I start packing more snowballs and make sure to compact them really tight so they're firmer and have a better weight to them. I make enough snowballs to make into a small pyramid of 18. I quickly make a thin layer of ice on all of them, using my hands to melt them a bit, before planning my next attack. I pick up 2 of them and listen out for movement around me. I have fairly sensitive ears so it isn't hard for me to pick out the noise of someone sneaking past my little hideout. I quickly stick my head out and throw it at what I believe is Hannah's back before ducking again. I'm mostly hidden by my shelter since it's elevated above the main path, but I'm entirely covered.

I turn back to grab another snowball when I hear some rustling behind me. As I turn to see what or who it is, I get a faceful of snow and some of it gets down the back of my cloak. I wipe the snow off as try to blink and see who it is. The snow is very cold and my face gets very numb and it kind of hurts. When I clear my face I see that it was Hermione. I glare at her and she just smirks back.

"I'm surprised you didn't hear me coming up behind you. I was certain you picked that snowball up to hit me, so I kind of panicked and just threw the snow at you."

"I didn't actually hear you till just after I picked up the ball. Great job." As I say this I very slowly move my hand and reach behind me to grab a snowball since I left the one I had previously on the ground when she hit me.

"Yeah, well we're thinking about going to Hogsmeade at lunch for some hot chocolate and pies. Are you okay to join us or…?"

"Yeah that'll be fine."

"Okay, that's-" I cut her off by throwing the snowball at her. She gets a facefull of snow and looks extremely shocked and annoyed. I smirk at her reaction and she turns a bit red.

"You sneaky little ferret! How did you even get the snowball while I was talking to you?"

"Careful about who you call a ferret, I can always refer to you as a beaver for the rest of the afternoon."

"True, but not as many people will get the beaver reference, whereas almost everyone will get the ferret reference." I pout a little, but quickly grab another snowball and throw it at her.

"Hey! Stop being so trigger happy!" I look at her with a very confused expression and she realizes her mistake fairly quickly.

"Oh, it's a muggle reference. It means that you're very eager to attack me right now, though it's usually in the context of guns. Can I sit down? It's kind of tiring standing here talking to you and I keep having to look around to make sure no one throws a snowball at me."

"Sure. Do you want to throw snowballs with me?"

"Okay, though we should probably make some more." We spend another couple minutes making more snowballs, but they're a little sloppy.

We then take turns throwing them at everyone who passes by. We manage to get Blaise in the back of the neck, but quickly duck when he turns around. As we reach to get more snowballs we see a shadow cast itself over us. We look up to see Blaise looking at us with a mischievous and almost 'knowing' smile.

"Well, well, well. If it isn't the two love birds. I was wondering where you'd gotten to Hermione. We're probably going to head to Hogsmeade soon, so if you could come down and join us that would be great." I'm surprised to see him here seeing as how I didn't hear him approach, I guess I was too involved with what we were doing to notice.

"We'll get down in about a minute or two. Go on ahead." replies Hermione.

"Okay, but no hitting me as I walk down. I want a free walk back."

"Fine." I reply in a very annoyed tone. I was hoping to wipe the smirk right off of his face. He knew what I was planning to do. That's the only problem with hanging around sneaky people, they think of the same sneaky plans that you do and anticipate them very well.

He walks back and I dig my bag out of the small hole I made earlier to keep it safe. I cast a spell on the bag to prevent it from getting wet and it meant that I wouldn't have to worry about what happened to it while I was doing the snowball fight with them. I brush off a little bit of snow before slinging it on. I stand up while leaning on the little mound of snow and unshrink my crutches. Since I knew we'd be coming out today and doing more physical activity, I chose to use my crutches since they're more mobile and I've been getting a bit better.

I walk with Hermione down the slope to join the others. As we walk down, the wind blows and we get showered in some snow that gets blown off of the trees. By the time we get down, everyone else has already gathered and are about to leave. We walk down to Hogsmeade and go to the Hog's Head. Since the Battle of Hogwarts, we've all become pretty close to Aberforth and like to visit him at his pub every now and then. He's quite cranky still, but I think he has more of a soft spot for us.

We walk in and find a large table at the back of the pub. Blaise goes up and orders enough butterbeers for all of us and some pot pies to share. There are about 20 of us altogether from mostly the eighth year, though there are a couple seventh years like Ginny and Luna. We sit there for awhile just chatting and eating our food since the pies are really hot.

Around mid-afternoon, Hermione and I walk back up to the castle since we don't want to be stuck outside when it snows this afternoon, or lose track of time and walk back after dark. When we get inside I ask if I can go do something by myself.

"Sure, just make sure you get to dinner on time. I don't want to eat by myself."

"Will do. See you then."

I then walk up to the astronomy tower. When I get up to the top, the sun is already setting because we're in winter now. It's a little chilly, but I still have my cloak from earlier. I sit on the edge like I usually do and just look out at the snow covered landscape around me. I'd love to be out there and just fly over all of it, but I didn't bring a broom this year. I didn't really think much of it till now. I've alway loved flying. Being on the Quidditch team was great, but just flying with no goal or guidelines is fun. I love feeling the wind whip in my faces and the rush of flying so fast in the air.

I almost wish that I had looked into joining the Quidditch team just so I could have an excuse to fly more often. Having said that, we need to make more space for the younger kids to join and create memories and legacies of their own. I realize that I could fly right now if I had a broomstick. It doesn't really require me to be able to support weight on my legs, they just dangle there and allow you to keep your balance. I pull out a pen and make a quick note about maybe picking up my old broom from the manor on the inside of my hand so no one will see it.

I lean my head against the wall as I sit there on the edge and just stare into space for awhile. I 'awake' from my stupor around 4:30 so I head downstairs again to see if Hermione is in our room. I open the portrait and see that she's sleeping on the couch with her laptop on the coffee table still open, but off. I check the time and see that it's only 4:38, so I grab a blanket off the couch and drape it over her sleeping form. I then sit down on the opposite couch and pull out my computer to do a little bit of creative writing.

When it's around 5 pm, I out my laptop back and walk over to wake up Hermione. I tap her shoulder at first then gently rub her should till she wakes up.

"Hey there sleepy head, it's about time for dinner. Do you need a couple minutes to get ready?" I ask her.

She groans then sits up. Her hair is a bit messy, but she looks really cute like that. "I just need to go to the bathroom, but then I should be ready to go. Oh, and thanks for waking me up and giving me the blanket."

"No problem." She then gets up after folding the blanket up. I wait for her and then when she comes back we leave to go to the great hall for dinner on this quiet winter day.

* * *

Author's Note: Again, I know this is a shorter chapter, but I don't want you guys spending too much time on your computers during this season, and I didn't have a lit of time to write either. Updates should be about 4-5 days apart because my family keeps pulling me away to do stuff over this Christmas break, but we're almost to the next big plot point. Thanks for all the support guys, I love reading your reviews. Please send feedback or suggestions, I'm always looking to improve my work, but it's easier with a different pair of eyes. Have a great week, till next time!


	38. New Creations, Surveys, & Fireworks

Disclaimer: I do not own the Harry Potter franchise, nor anything affiliated with it.

* * *

Hermione's POV

Today is New Year's Eve and George agreed to donate some fireworks to the school to create a display for tonight. Based on the ones he and his brother created in 5th year, it should be really good. I feel bad for George; he still continues with his business but I know he's lonely and running the shop reminds him so much of his brother. I find it hard being reminded of my parents at all, I doubt I'd be able to do what he does.

I'm helping to set up the fireworks with him, Draco, and our group of friends. He seems pretty bubbly, but not as much as he used to be. The light of his smile doesn't quite meet his eyes and his laugh sounds a little hollow now. We help him unpack the boxes and crates, and then line them up in small piles based on type.

"These fireworks have been created to explode in certain shapes. For example, I have couple fireworks per house that will explode in the shape of their crests or house animals. I also have one special one for the end that will explode in a full colour version of the Hogwarts crest. There's a huge selection of really cool ones, but those will be the centerpieces." says George to the rest of us as we work. In a quieter voice he adds, "I wish Fred could see this now" under his breath, but I think I'm the only one who heard him say it.

We make quick work of it all and soon all of it is prepped and just needs to be lit tonight. We head down to the Great Hall for lunch and George joins us. He joins our group and tells us all about his new creations that he's been working on.

"Wait, so you're making a new potion that will hide unwanted scars?" asks Draco.

"Yeah, I'm creating a more practical line of items that's more catered to the people who survived the war. I know a lot of the people who were in it ended up with lots of scars that can trigger unwanted memories or panic attacks." replies George. I know this piques Draco's interest since he's wanted to get rid of the scar of the Dark Mark, but it also interests me. I hate looking in the mirror because I don't want to risk seeing the scar that Bellatrix gave me. It makes me feel dirty and worthless and brings back some of the memories I have of that incident. I think it'll be a huge hit and will help quite a few people.

"That sounds pretty cool. What other things have you made so far?" says Neville.

"I've also started work on a new pet similar to the Pygmy puff that will follow you everywhere and eats the little scraps you have in your bag. It's fur has a certain texture that will calm most people down and is completely dirt resistant. They can sense stress and anxiety and will come immediately to help calm you down. They can also send a message to your close friends if you experience any type of panic attack, a disability is triggered, or you get injured. This is really helpful for a lot of the older participants of the war. They also can release a special scent that will help you fall asleep that's similar to a dreamless draught."

"Wow, that sounds really interesting." I say. "How big are they and what do they look like?"

"They are about the size of a ferret actually and look similar to cats. They have brown fur with grey streaks in it as that's the most neutral colour I could think of that would appeal to most age groups. They respond very well to being rubbed, but don't need to be. However I would recommend that you do since studies have shown that rubbing pets have great effects on your health and stress levels."

"It seems like you've really put a lot of research into this." comments Blaise.

"Yeah, well I figure a lot of people would be pretty interested in this and I wanted to expand our audiences a little more. Also I think the wizarding needs this, people aren't functioning as well as they used to and a lot of people are taking days off for mental health days as they call them in the muggle world."

We spend a little more time asking about more of George's projects and learn a lot more about what he's been getting up to these days. He seems to have really thrown everything into his work and it sounds excellent. I catch Draco's eyes and see that he's in pretty deep thought, most likely about the first two things George was talking about. I must say both of those products piqued my interest but I'm certain they interested him more.

We spend the afternoon in the Room of Requirement as it's the only space that's really big enough for all of us to congregate. George shows us a couple prototypes of his latest work and asks if we could all write a small survey for him. It's fairly general and doesn't take too long.

 _Weasley's Wizard Wheezes_

 _*All responses are confidential and use a number system instead of names to collect the data*_

 ** _Question 1 ~ How often have you visited Weasley's Wizard Wheezes in the past 2 years?_**

 **o** Very often (more than 15 times)

 **o** Often (around 10 times)

 **o** Sometimes (around 5 times)

 **o** Rarely (between 1-3 times)

 **o** Never or haven't heard of it

 ** _Question 2 ~ What is your gender?_**

 **o** Female

 **o** Male

 ** _Question 3 ~ What is your age?_**

 **o** Young child (5-10)

 **o** School age (11-18)

 **o** 19-29

 **o** 30-39

 **o** 40-49

 **o** 50-59

 **o** 60-69

 **o** 70-79

 **o** 80+

 ** _Question 4 ~ Which product would you consider to be your favourite? List up to 3 items._**

1.

2.

3.

 ** _Question 5 ~ How would you rate your service?_**

 **o** Excellent

 **o** Good

 **o** Satisfactory

 **o** Bad

 ** _Question 6 ~ How would you rate our products?_**

 **o** Excellent

 **o** Good

 **o** Satisfactory

 **o** Bad

 ** _Question 7 ~ Were you involved or directly affected by the Second Wizarding War?_**

 **o** Fought in it

 **o** Arrested by Voldemort's government

 **o** Present during an attack

 **o** Other

 **o** N/A

Once we're done filling them out he collects them and places them in a small briefcase. We then play a couple rounds of Exploding Snap before leaving for dinner.

Dinner is a pretty simple affair and by that point our questions for George have run dry. Instead he asks us about what's changed so far this year. Neville talks about the introduction of Muggle Studies as a mandatory course and a big shift towards technology. Luna then adds in something about Draco and I teaching Muggle Studies in place of a regular teacher due to no one being able to fill in.

"Yeah they're excellent teachers, even Draco here. In fact he's been doing a lot of the technical teaching contrary to what most people expect." says Blaise.

"Really? Kudos to you then mate. The muggle world has a lot to offer us in the wizarding world if we just have guts to reach out and take it. I've noticed a few shops opening up in Diagon Alley for phones and other technological devices. They're making a lot of money, especially with the younger demographics." says George to Draco.

"Thank you." replies Draco.

We then disperse afterwards to our common rooms and dorms before heading out later for the fireworks. We're supposed to gather later in the astronomy tower since they'll be going off from the courtyard. Draco and I head back to our room and just hang out a bit in our common room since neither of us really have anything to be doing right now.

"What did you think of the scar removing potion?" Draco asks me.

"I thought it was pretty cool, it can even be used for the general population as well since a lot of people, especially women, want to get rid of unwanted scars. I'd probably use it myself."

"Yeah." At his one word answer I look up and study his expression.

"You probably would like it for your…" I trail off and gesture roughly in the direction of his arm.

"I've been able to get really good at hiding it by wearing long sleeves all the time. However it still unnerves me to see when ever I get changed, or shower, or see it in the mirror. And on the off chance that someone sees it in the future, I'll be written off immediately."

"That's very true. I'm similarly affected mentally when I see the 'mudblood' written on my arm. It makes you feel dirty right? Like you're worthless and nothing more than what's there?" I say the last part really quiet because I don't want my voice to break. It's funny how much power a simple word or symbol can have on you or your mind.

He nods but doesn't say anything in return. We sit in silence before chatting a little more.

We leave the room around 10:30 because that's when they'll start serving refreshments. McGonagall wanted to provide a small kind of party for the kids staying here since there are more of us who are above the legal drinking age and wanted to reduce the amount of people going in to Hogsmeade and possibly getting drunk.

By the time we get there, most of the people who stayed for the holidays are already there. There are two tables along one of the walls with drinks and finger food, and on the opposite side there is a karaoke station. Most people are just talking eating, but I think Luna and Neville are about to go up for a duet. I can't really tell if they're dating or not, but it seems like they are sometimes. I think they'd be a good match, but it's really up to them to decide that on their own time.

Draco and I mostly stay to the side and just look out by the rails at the moon and the grounds below us. We can see George and what appears to be Bill and Charlie setting up the fireworks for tonight's display and I almost wish I could help. At around 11:50, McGonagall comes up and uses the microphone at the karaoke station to make an announcement.

"Hello students. I'd like to thank you all for coming out here tonight. I hope you've all had fun tonight. In about 10 minutes we'll start the surprise you've all been waiting for, right in time for midnight. I hope you all had a wonderful year at Hogwarts, and I hope the next one will be even more fruitful." With that, she puts the mic back and exits to her office presumably.

When there's just under 1 minute before midnight, we hear George's voice amplified by a sonorus charm. "Hello students of Hogwarts. This is George Weasley of Weasley's Wizard Wheezes. I just wanted to say that it's an honour to be back here after having left the school during the year of that awful dirtbag Umbridge. I will be in charge of tonight's display, so if you'll join me, let's count down to the last 20 seconds of this year!"

The two of us and the rest of the school then join him chanting. "20! 19! 18! 17! 16! 15! 14! 13! 12! 11! 10! 9! 8! 7! 6! 5! 4! 3! 2! 1!" As we say '1', a firework goes up in the shape of streamers. This is followed by a collection of large colourful fireworks in the normal patterns. One firework illuminates the entire sky in an imitation of the Aurora Borealis.

After about 8 minutes of non-stop fireworks, and many 'oohs' and 'ahhs' from the crowd, the house crests go up. Each crest is in full colour renditions surrounded by plenty of sparks in the house colours. It amazes me how George managed to do all of this seeing as how getting the gunpowder and dye right is very difficult. Then after the house crests have gone up, the last one explodes. The Hogwarts crest in all of its glory fills the sky. It stays for about 5 seconds before fading into the darkness. Right as it fades, a silent firework goes up and explodes causing glittering silver sparks to fall down like snow. As it disappears, the whole group of us explode in thunderous applause. Down in the courtyard below, surrounded by smoke, George, Charlie, and Bill all bow before cleaning up.

I look out and see that actual snowflakes have started to fall and are gently floating down. I look up at Draco and smile at their beauty.

Draco and I decide to stay awhile as everyone heads back to their dorms. We sit down on the edge of the tower and lean against each other, full of hope for the year ahead of us.

* * *

Author's Note: I've decided that I can no longer put a fixed number of days on my updates. They may be up to 6 days apart, but never longer than a week. I also won't be able to update on Sundays as it's the only day that I'm not guaranteed access to my laptop. Also I won't abandon a fic without warning and I will make sure that you are aware when my last update would be, though I doubt I'll ever get to that point as it is one of my pet peeves when a story isn't finished. Thanks for the continued support of this fic. Please keep the reviews and feedback coming, it's nice hearing support in the form of words and not just numbers. Have a great week you guys, till next time.


	39. London, Pasta, & Orange Chiffon Cake

Disclaimer: I do not own the Harry Potter franchise, nor anything affiliated with it.

* * *

Draco's POV

We're back to school on Monday, but I'm not sure I want this holiday break to stop. We haven't done much, but it's been nice and relaxing. Once the break is over we'll have to start thinking about exams and culminating projects. I also have to start thinking about putting together the exam itself for Muggle Studies. Hermione will be putting together the review package as she's pretty good at it, but it means I'll be responsible for writing the exam for all the different grades. It also means I have to read through all of the notes and study packages for all the grades before actually finding questions that would be suitable for them. At least Hermione knows most of the stuff from her heritage, but I'll have a huge amount of information bombarding me and overloading my brain.

Since today is the Saturday before we go back, I want to take Hermione on a proper date before we don't have enough time to do so. I know of a place in muggle London that has a separate section in the restaurant for wizarding folk. My mother used to take me there every now and then, usually on a day when she would be shopping in the wizarding clothing high streets. It's pretty formal, but they have really good and flavourful food. I got permission from McGonagall to apparate with Hermione there as long as we get back before midnight.

We've come up to our room after hanging out for the morning and afternoon with our friends. This time we went for a hike in the deep snow near the Forbidden Forest and Hagrid's hut. The snow was so deep that when we were walking, Blaise manage to trip over the wall as he was telling us a joke. There's been a lot more snow this year, more than there should be for this part of Scotland. Either someone's using magic on the weather or it's just been getting more extreme.

Hermione went into her room for a nap since we did a lot today and we've had a lot of late nights recently. Everything is all set for tonight, I just need to find a way to ask her out when she wakes up.

I enter my own room, and pull out a piece of parchment and a quill, to write a small note to her. When I'm finished I place it in a cream coloured envelope and then seal it with a small piece of wax. I walk out to her doorway while leaning on the wall for support, so that I can slip it under the door for her to see when she wakes up. I return to my room and get dressed for this evening in a suit since we'll have to pass by some muggles at some point.

I've just gotten out of my bathroom after changing and freshening up a bit, when my phone buzzes. I check the screen and see that Hermione's texted me.

What's with the fancy note? Why'd you want want me to text you?

I smirk to myself before going over to her door again. I try my best to stand up straight without support and then knock on her door. She answers fairly quickly and I'm met with her confused face surrounded by her extremely messy hair.

"What's going on, and what's with the suit and… flowers?" She gasps a little bit before continuing. "Did I forget a special occassion or something?"

"Oh no, not at all. I was wondering if you would like to come out with me to dinner in London? I have everything sorted out, in the meantime you can have these." I then hand her the small bouquet of wildflowers that I collected from the greenhouse with the help of Neville.

"Thank you so much and, umm, sure. I'd love to come, I just need some time to get ready seeing as how I'm guessing this is a fancy place. I can't exactly go in looking like some walking bird's nest now can I?" She says in a joking tone.

"Sure, go ahead. I have reservations set for 6:30, about 1 hour away from now, but I can have it moved up if you want."

"An hour is plenty of time. I better go now though."

"Right, see you soon then." I say. She nods then turns around and shuts the door behind her.

As soon as she closes the door, I lean against the wall. I take a deep breath and then enter my room. I gather a couple items to take with me consisting of my phone, my wand, and my crutches. I then head down to the common room and browse a bit of music on my phone. I like doing this every now and then so I'm not just listening to the same stuff over and over again. After a while I just twiddle my thumbs and wait when I hear a rustle behind me.

I turn around and I'm greeted with the sight of Hermione walking down the stairs like during fourth year and the night of the Halloween ball. She wears a cream coloured lacey long sleeved dress and her hair is pinned up half up half down with a few strands loose to frame her face. I don't think she's wearing any makeup, but she's put on some moisturizer. She also wears the necklace I gave her the night of the Halloween ball, but in this light it looks almost silver.

I walk over as steady as I can and take her left arm in my right while grabbing a crutch from my pocket and unshrinking it to use with my left arm.

"You look gorgeous tonight." I say. She smiles and replies.

"Well you look handsome as well. I can't believe you've managed to move down to crutches, and sometimes even just one. It's great progress. By the way, thank you for inviting me tonight."

"You're welcome, though we haven't actually left yet. How about we see how this goes before you thank me." I say in a teasing tone.

We walk down to the entrance hall and give the statues there a password that McGonagall gave us to open the doors. We continue down the path till we get past the wards for the castle so we can apparate down to London.

With a twist, we arrive in the bustling streets next to the restaurant. We walk out of the alley and journey a little further before I find the entrance to the place we're supposed to go.

We enter through the doors and go up to the counter to be seated. The main restaurant has a very old style to it, with lots of wood everywhere and dim yellow lights and candles everywhere. The ceiling has lots of wooden support beams and the floor is a hardwood with the same dark brown of the beams. When we finally get serviced, the man asks us a question.

"Have you guys heard the most recent story in the, the Daily...um."

"Prophet?" I offer.

"Ah yes, that's right. They say that the Minister is doing pretty well with his new campaign, I must say it's pretty good. In the meantime, is it just the two of you tonight?"

"Yes, the reservation is under the name of Malfoy."

"Right, this way then. Follow me." He says as he collects two menus and leads us to a stairway at the back and gestures for us to go up.

We walk up and he shows us to our table by a window overlooking the city.

"Your server will be with you momentarily." He then leaves us our menus before returning back downstairs.

"What was with the question about the newspaper? Surely they don't just ask informal questions like that all the time." Hermione asks me.

"This restaurant services both muggles and wizarding folk. In order to distinguish between the two in a more subtle way, they ask an open ended question that would be answered differently depending on your background. Wizarding folk are seated upstairs while muggles are on the ground floor."

"Wow, that's pretty cool. By the way, how do you know about this restaurant? It doesn't quite seem like something your family would go to since we're surrounded by muggles in this part of the city, no offence." I smile at her.

"None taken. Well, my mother was friends with the original owners of this restaurant, that's the only reasons she tolerated coming out to this part of the city. She used to take me here when I was younger and my father was out conducting business for the evening. It used to be the only time she could shop without him bothering her so she'd shop late and then have dinner." I reply.

"That makes sense." She says. After that we fall into an awkward silence.

The place has changed since I last saw it 8 years ago. There is now purple carpet on the floors instead of the hardwood floorboards it used to be. The wallpaper has stayed the same patterned cream style as before, but the lighting fixtures have been replaced to be cozier. There are a lot less people than there used to be, though the sound levels are the same. They have muffliato charms cast around each table to allow for privacy as much of the clientele are rich or business folk.

A waiter comes over to us and asks if we would like any drinks to start with.

"I'll have an iced water please." Says Hermione.

"I'll have the same, but could I have a slice of lemon in it as well?" I add.

"Of course." Our waiter says as he jots this down. "Are you ready to order or would you like a few minutes to decide?"

"A few more minutes would be great, thank you." I say.

He nods before walking off.

"What are you thinking of having?" I ask Hermione.

"I'm thinking about the seafood linguine, what about you? Also, do you want to get an appetizer to share as well?"

"I'm thinking about the pad thai noodles and chicken. I've never had it before and I like trying different foods. In terms of appetizers, I know that the stuffed mushrooms are really good. They're stuffed with cream cheese and cheddar and covered in a thin layer of garlic butter and breadcrumbs."

"That's sounds pretty good. I think we should be ready to order then." Just as she says this, the waiter comes back to ask if we know what we want yet.

"We'll have one seafood linguine, one pad thai noodles, and one stuffed mushroom appetizer please." He nods and collects our menus from us, then walks away as he writes our order onto his notepad.

"So have you been thinking about what we should do for the presentation component of our muggle studies project? I know most of the class has their ideas ready, but we haven't had a lot of time to really do our work." Hermione says.

"Actually I had an idea a couple days ago. What about doing another interactive activity with transportation, similar to the one we were supposed to do with Professor Carrington, however we could do it on either the Hogwarts grounds or the Manor grounds seeing as how I have a lot of land that isn't being used. It'll take some work and convincing McGonagall and the Hogwarts' Board of Directors, but I think it could work. For things like airplanes, we could use the simulators that pilots use to train. In fact if we do that, we could even try getting a simulator for a rocket ship as well. Things like bullet trains may prove to be more difficult, but cars should be simple enough."

"That's a really good idea, and I'm glad you've been thinking a lot about this, but how on Earth will we pay for all of it?" replies Hermione with a bit of concern in her voice. However her eyes betray a certain kind of wonder at my creative suggestion.

"Well even though the Ministry taxed the Death Eater families quite heavily after the war, my mother has a very large art collection that is worth millions, if not billions, of galleons that I wouldn't mind selling a percentage of. It's not like it's being used in the Manor right now."

"Are you sure? I mean this is just a school project."

"Well, the class missed out on what would have been a very interesting field trip, if my research tells me anything, and I think it would be wonderful for them to be able to experience it all first-hand."

"That's generous of you, but you had better let me plan this all out and try to procure the necessary equipment. I feel like I'm not going to be able to contribute as much as I'd like with this project."

"Don't worry, I'm counting on you finding out how to get all of the equipment seeing as how you're better at that stuff and have more general knowledge on that stuff than I do."

Hermione smirks and nods before looking down at her hands.

"So, how are things with your dad? If I remember correctly, he's in Azkaban right now. Do you know if anything happened to him during the break out back in… November?" She asks me.

"I haven't had much of an opportunity to visit him, but I also kind of forgot about him in all honesty. To add to that, I haven't been in the best physical condition so visiting was pretty much out of the question. I sent a letter to him awhile back informing him about Mother's death, but I never received a response. I might try to visit him soon seeing as how I'm better now and first semester is coming to an end."

"That's good. You know you should probably inform him at some point about the two of us. He'll want to know."

"I know, and I know that he isn't as biased and prejudiced as he used to be, but I'm still scared that he'll overreact. Especially considering that he's been in Azkaban for a few months now and it could have addled his brain."

"Don't worry. You'll have to do it at some point, and it would be better to do it sooner so he'll be more sane. Besides, hearing the news from you will be better than him hearing it from any of the Death Eaters we sent back to Azkaban after the airport. " She says. Her words comfort me a bit, but not much.

At this point the appetizer comes and we start eating. Their mushrooms are just as good as I remember and I savour the taste for as long as possible. Just as soon as we finish that, our main course comes and we dig in. The pad thai is wonderful and there's so much flavour in it. We both try a bit of each other's food and the linguine that Hermione ordered is really rich and creamy.

When we finish everything, the waiter brings our bill and I pay it through the tab for my family. We then leave and take a walk down the street.

"Hey, I know this area!" Says Hermione once we've walked for about a block. "There's a really nice dessert shop and bakery near here that isn't too pricey. It's just one or two more blocks down."

"That sounds like a good place to go for dessert then. You lead the way." I say.

We walk down and then enter a small shop that seems pretty quiet. It's fairly cozy and there are lots of armchairs and fancy wooden tables everywhere, the kind of furniture I have in my family's library. Hermione leads me to the counter and shows me the selection of tea cakes and other confections.

"Do you have any idea about what's good or…" I ask.

"Well the last time I came here with me family we had this little orange chiffon cake. It may look like a lot, but it's very light and sweet. They have a smaller one that would be the perfect size for us to share. Do you want to try that?"

"Sure." I say.

"In that case, I'll go buy it since I actually have muggle cash." She says while gesturing to one of the chairs for me to sit down.

She comes back pretty soon with the cake and we sit at the spot I chose near the window. She gives me one fork and then uses the other. We spend about 20 minutes sitting there eating the cake and chatting about little things before we decide it's time to head back.

We walk back to the alley at a very casual pace, enjoying the fresh night air and the buzz of the people milling around. Once we're back to the spot we arrived at, we apparate back to Hogsmeade.

We trek back up to the castle, and then to our dorm, giving all of the necessary passwords along the way.

"Thank you for coming with me this evening Hermione, I had a wonderful time." I say.

"You're welcome, but thank you for inviting me out and coming up with the idea in the first place. It was amazing and the restaurant was great." she says. "Goodnight Draco, try to get some sleep. We only have one more day before we're back in school."

"Don't remind me." I say. "And goodnight Hermione, you should try getting some sleep as well. I know you have insomnia too."

"Goodnight." she says with a sad smile before walking up the stairs to her room.

I follow behind her up the stairs and open my door. Then I get changed immediately before climbing in to bed. That night, I dream of cakes, curly hair, my father, and simulators.

* * *

Author's Note: I managed to get my computer back early, but it still took awhile to copy from my notebook to laptop. Thanks for all your support. Please review! All feedback is welcome. Have a great week all of you, till next time.


	40. Subway Cars, Ferrets, & Cackles

Disclaimer: I do not own the Harry Potter franchise, nor anything affiliated with it.

* * *

Hermione's POV

We're starting work on the practical part of the Muggle Studies projects now and the classroom is buzzing as everyone is trying to figure out logistics and actually start all of their projects. Most groups are on track and on task and I feel proud to see them doing so well on something that I helped come up with. Some of the students are creating documentaries, while I know one group is creating an online educational video game.

Draco and I are spending most of our class time monitoring the class and dealing with the specifics of putting together our "transit trip". I'm personally spending a lot of time trying to convince companies and governments to let us buy equipment and vehicles from them at prices within our budget. It's quite difficult as many of them are reluctant to part with the stuff only to give them to a group of teenagers for a school project. It's also harder to buy the stuff individually as opposed to a bulk contract order. They're also quite skeptical of our ability to pay for all of it without grants or subsidies.

I call Draco over to look at what I have so far to make sure it fits in our budget. I pull up one of my spreadsheets to show an easy comparison of everything and our finances.

"So far I've managed to procure a set of subway cars from the city of Toronto in Canada. It isn't the fastest one out there, but it's still almost two times as fast as the Hogwarts Express. I've been talking to McGonagall about this project of ours and I asked if we could possibly use the train on the line from Hogsmeade to Kings Cross so we don't have to worry about making a new set of tracks. We can then arrange the trip to be from Hogsmeade on the train, to Kings Cross where we'll take a public bus to Diagon Alley, then apparate to your Manor where we can set up the simulators and create a course for everyone to try driving, biking, and skateboarding, as well as rollerblading and skating."

"That sounds like a good plan, but we'll need a teacher supervisor-"

"I've already asked McGonagall and she's agreed to do it." I cut in before I can stop myself.

"-and we'll also have to ask her if we're even allowed to do that by Ministry rules and regulations."

"McGonagall's already put in a formal request for this project to Kingsley, but he should approve it. Especially since I've planned it to be quite inconspicuous to any muggles we may run into." I say

"Alright then, I'll take your word for it. How much was the train anyway?" He asks

"It was about 3 million which is pretty cheap since the new ones are valued at 20 million. I was actually quite surprised at the price, but apparently it was headed for the landfill."

"As long as it doesn't mean it's in bad condition." He says a little skeptical.

"Even if it isn't in the best condition, we can always use charms and spells to help keep it together for the trip itself. After that we'll just have to find a way to dispose of it."

"That's true." He says. "By the way, class will be over soon so we should probably make an announcement for the class to start packing up their materials and equipment."

"Alright then, do you want to make the announcement or should I?" I ask.

"I'll do it, you just finish up what you're doing." He then turns to address the class and claps to get their attention. "It's about 7 minutes before class is dismissed, so if you're going to need some time to pack up your stuff I recommend starting now."

I smile to myself as he does this. He has a natural authority when he's speaking like this to the class. The major change is that he now has a certain humbleness that he didn't when we were younger. The whole class just listens and doesn't bother arguing with him. I think he'd make a good professor. In fact, I'd probably say that he could make a good Muggle Studies professor after we graduate. I love the idea of teaching, but I feel like I would bore the students to death and ruin any chance of them wanting to learn the stuff. Draco on the other hand has a creative flair and engaging attitude when he's doing stuff like this.

I start to close the programs and websites open on my computer after saving the necessary stuff while the rest of the class follows Draco's instructions. I put my laptop in it's bag before placing it and my binder in my purse. By this point almost everyone is packed up and we're just waiting for class to be officially over.

The rest of the day passes in a bit of a blur since its mostly just review work for the upcoming exams. We have a lot of homework which I know everyone else is quite irritated by since it's only the fourth day back after the break. Lunch and dinner are both quiet in the great hall since most students are in the library studying and doing research for all of their classes, including Ginny, Neville, and Blaise.

Draco and I head back to our room after dinner to relax a bit before cracking on with our homework. When we get up however, we find George standing at our portrait hole with two medium sized shoeboxes.

"Hello George, to what do we owe the pleasure of your presence here?" I ask politely.

"Hello Hermione, Draco, I wanted to give you both your own 'pygmy puffs'. You know, the ones I was talking about the last time I was here?"

"Yes, that's right. The ones that were similar to ferrets right?" replies Draco.

"That's correct. Although I have finally found a suitable name for them. I call them Puff Pals, though they can also be named. These two are some of the first ones and I wanted you both to try them out to see if they work."

"That's great George. Thank you so much." I say.

"Here you go, one for Hermione, another for Draco. They don't need to be fed and anything they consume will be turned into energy, no waste. If you guys could send me an owl after about a week or so on how they've been that would be great. I have to go now, see you guys around." I carry Draco's for him so he still has his hands free to maneuver his crutches.

"Thanks again, have a great evening." I say as George leaves.

We enter our portrait hole and sit down on the couch so we can see what the 'Puff Pals' look like. Once we're settled down, we open the boxes to see a small ferret like animal. It has sleek fur that's a rich light brown in colour, but it also has a small streak of white between its shoulder blades. Mine is curled up in a little ball right now and it appears to be sleeping. I reach into the box to stroke it a bit but it wakes up. It yawns and then stretches a little before using its head to nuzzle against my hand. I smile and pick it up out of the box so I can place it on my lap. I stroke it a bit more before seeing how Draco is doing with his.

Draco is stroking his with two fingers on its head. His ferret on the other hand seems to want to climb up his shoulder. After a bit of squirming, it clambers up his arm and settles around Draco's neck. It then nuzzles his ear and makes a noise similar to a cat's purr.

We both sit for awhile and let the ferrets, since that's basically what they are, roam around and check out their surrounding. My ferret starts to sniff around on the couch while Draco's jumps off his shoulder and sniffs around on the carpet. Eventually they meet each other and play a little bit. They then cuddle and lie down next to each other, but slightly on top of each other as well.

"Hermione, would you mind if I go down to the Quidditch pitch for a little bit of flying before it gets too late?" says Draco after awhile.

"Um, sure. Are you confident you'll be okay to do it?"

"Yeah, I figure it doesn't really require much leg movement and I miss it quite a bit."

"In that case feel free to go. You don't really need my permission to do stuff like that, I'm not your mother. Oh, sorry." I say when I realize that I might have hit a nerve. However he brushes it off smoothly.

"Oh it's alright, don't worry about it. Anyway I'm just going to get my broom, I should be back within the next 2 hours or so."

"Okay, see you then."

Then he seems to think of something. "Hermione, do you want to come with me?"

"No thank you, I don't mean to be rude. I just feel nervous watching other people fly, I mean the sheer amount of incidents Harry got into while playing Quidditch was scary enough. Go have fun."

"Alright then. Bye." He then leaves and gets his broom before exiting the dorm entirely. During that time when Draco left, his ferret must have noticed that he was gone because it got up and ambled to the door before nudging it with his nose a bit. I guess they like following the people they first bond with, or their owners. I get up to grab his ferret and my ferret follows me too.

I do a decent portion of my homework on the couch and finish most of my assignments pretty quickly. At one point I start to feel really tired so I set an alarm for 10 minutes and take a short nap.

 _I'm sitting on a broomstick just over 3 feet from the ground in the middle of the Quidditch pitch, and the moon is shining like a beacon. There's a cold wind blowing and I lean slightly against it so I don't get knocked over or slip off. I'm mostly just slowly moving around a bit, but I still feel terrified to be here. I look down and it feels like I'm suddenly 10 feet up in the air. I start to panic, fear preventing me from remembering how to go lower and closer to the ground._

 _"Hermione don't worry, I'll come over to help you." Says what appears to be Draco. He's much higher than me and he dives down towards me. As he's doing so though, he's shot out of the sky with a flash of green light. The unmistakable colour of the killing curse. I look to see where it came from and I see Bellatrix standing on the pitch he wand aimed at where Draco had just been._

 _"Ickle little mudblood, come out to play! How about you try to catch your little precious Draco before he goes splat on the ground like a little egg?" she cackles. I start to panic even more. Then I realize that Draco is still falling since he was so high up._

 _I try to move my broom forward to catch him in time, but it moves so slowly. My wand isn't on me so I can't even cast a spell to halt his fall. I try to get off my broom since I know that technically I'm only about 3 feet from the ground. However I just land on the ground and get stuck instead, it's almost like quicksand. As Bellatrix's cackle grows louder as well as stranger and more warped, I'm suddenly falling only to be enveloped in complete darkness._

 _It presses in on me, the sound of her cackles and screeches like an ocean roaring in my ears. The scar on my arm begins to burn a bit, as if Bellatrix is carving into it once again. I shriek as the pain flows through me once again. Then I feel a weird cold pressure on my nose before..._

I jolt awake with my chest heaving from the nightmare. My hair is a mess and I feel too hot. I then notice that my alarm is ringing and has been for almost 15 minutes. As I center myself with my surroundings I notice that my alarm noise is a quacking noise that seems weirdly similar to the cackles that Bellatrix was making in my dream and I have to laugh at the absurdity of it.

I look down to see that my ferret is lying on its back on the ground and is trying to get up again. My nose feels a little wet and I realize that it was probably trying to wake me up from my nightmare. I look at it gratefully and pick it up to sit next to me.

"I need to give you a name don't I? I can't just keep calling you 'my ferret', though I should probably remind Draco to give his a name as well. Hmm… how about Nat. From what I can tell you're a girl, but you guys may be unisex. I used to love this film where one of the main characters was called Natasha. Yeah I like the sound of that, what about you?"

Nat just leans on my leg and flops on her back for me to rub her belly. I gladly do so when I hear a voice right behind me.

"I've been gone for only an hour and a half and you're already talking to animals? What are you going to do next, serenade the giant squid?" Draco says in a teasing voice.

"You heard all of that?" I ask.

"Yep, and in case you were wondering I don't have a name yet for my ferret though I have been thinking about it."

"That's fine, I mean we only just got them right? How was it out there?"

"It was amazing." He replies. "The wind wasn't too strong but it was a little chilly. It was great to be flying again, I've missed it so much. No one was out there when I went so I had the whole pitch to myself. I haven't started doing any stunts yet, but I was nice to just be up in the air and have the wind flowing through my hair."

"That sounds pretty cool, though I'm glad I stayed on the ground." I say.

"One of these days I'm taking you up there, if only for the view. We'll get there someday." He says. Then realizes something. "Have you seen my ferret anywhere?"

"I think he's under the couch right now, I'll take a look."

I get up and lie down on the ground to look under the couch. He isn't there so I whistle for a bit to get his attention. Then I spot him, he's sleeping inside of Draco's bag with one paw sticking out. I go over and gently lift the bag up and bring it to Draco. He takes the bag and smiles as he looks at his ferret.

"These guys are so cute." He says after a while. "I must say, I'm glad Moody at least turned me into a cute animal back in fourth year. I can also see why you guys must have thought it would be funny to watch." His words remind me of a question I haven't really thought about much, but I know I wanted to ask him back in November.

"Draco, you've never learnt how to perform the Patronus charm right?"

"Yeah. I never had a chance to do it in class and its not like it would be something you'd learn as a Death Eater." He says in a slightly bitter tone.

"Right. Do you want to learn how to do it?" I ask. He looks a little surprised at first.

"I'd like to, but do we have any time for it?" He says.

"Well, we do have a bit of time this weekend. How about then?"

"Oh, um sure. I am quite curious to know what animal it'll be, if I can even make a corporeal Patronus."

"Great. I can't wait to teach you. I'm equally curious to know what your Patronus will be."

I check my clock and see that it's actually 10:00pm. I then check my email quickly on my phone and see that there isn't any other homework besides what we were given in class so I pack up my stuff.

"Are you going to stay and do homework now?" I ask Draco.

"Yeah, I still have to finish a couple assignments and it isn't too late yet. Are you going to bed now?"

"Yes, we've only been back for a couple of days but I'm already tired." I reply.

"Alright, good night then." He says.

"Good night, see you in the morning."

"See you then." He finishes.

I then walk up to my room and practically collapse on my bed to a relatively quiet night of dreams.

* * *

Author's Note: These numbers and costs in the chapter a based off of basic searches on the prices of Toronto's transit vehicles. It's been a weird week for me, but I'm just glad I managed to get the chapter up at all. For anyone doing exams right now, good luck but remember to plan your studying. Everyone else, thanks for the support but please review! Have a great week all of you, till next time!


	41. Trains, Cars, & Motorcycles

Disclaimer: I do not own the Harry Potter franchise, nor anything affiliated with it.

* * *

Draco's POV

Today is the first day of presentations and I'm stressing quite a bit. We've managed to get all the necessary parts for our idea to work, but we had some problems with malfunction machines during the week that we just managed to clear before today. Hopefully nothing of that sort happens during the trip, it would be just our luck if a muggle studies excursion ended in disaster again.

I continue packing my bag, but this time I pack it with the aim to be prepared to a) help us if we end up in a bad situation, and b) help if anyone forgets anything. It seems like that kind of thing a teacher would do, but I make sure to pack a small basic healing supply kit, a couple of small snacks, a few shrunken down water bottles, and other things we might need like incident report slips. I finish putting everything inside before grabbing my crutches from beside my bed, and knocking on Hermione's door to see if she's ready.

She doesn't answer the door immediately, but I know I heard a faint, 'just a moment', before hearing the sound of a lot of crashing and minor cursing. She opens the door with a slightly red and flustered face before apologizing for the wait.

"It's alright," I reply with a laugh, "you sure made it entertaining for me."

She blushes even harder when I say this and I laugh even more.

"Do you want some help cleaning up whatever that was?" I offer.

"Uh, sure. Do you know what time it is? I don't want to be late for this and we really should be there about 20 minutes early."

"Don't worry, we still have another 40 minutes to go." I say. "But if you don't hurry up we might be just a bit late."

"I'm hurrying, but I can't figure out what to bring. I know my purse can hold pretty much anything I want, but I don't want to clutter it too much. It's really annoying having to clear it out every now and then." She says.

"Trust me, we probably don't need half the stuff you're thinking of bringing. I'm already bringing a collection of small snacks and plenty of water. The main things we need now are muggle money, since I don't have a lot of it, bus tickets, and the survey and itinerary sheets."

"Alright then, but I am going to bring my healings potions with me. I'm not sure if you're bringing some, but I'd feel better bringing my own since I know what I have in there."

"That's true. You would have had to deal with the most amount of wounds from the war. You're probably more qualified to deal with and treat it than most of the nurses in St. Mungo's." She smiles a bit at my last remark, but when I look in her eyes I regret saying what I did. I can see the haunted look of someone who's having small flashbacks. I feel bad for reminding her of those horrors.

Before I can redirect the conversation, Hermione speaks instead, "Do you have everything prepared for lunch today?"

"Yes I do. Bipsy is heating up the food as we speak. We decided on a menu of lasagna, greek salad, and garlic bread. In terms of drinks, I thought hot apple cider and water would be okay." We wanted to serve food at the Manor so that it would be easier than finding somewhere else for us all to eat on the way, or booking a place. It's also a lot cheaper since we can purchase the ingredients in bulk.

"Excellent," she says, "I think everything is about ready then. I'm done packing all my stuff together so we should probably head down now."

"After you." I say, letting her exit first. I then close her door quietly behind me before we exit our dorm altogether to walk down to the classroom.

* * *

At about 8:50, we finally have everyone gathered including McGonagall. I try to get their attention, but it takes a bit more time than usual to do so today.

"Attention class!" I practically yell at them. By this point they've quieted down, but I wait a moment for it to be almost silent so I can speak.

"Just a reminder that lunch today will be provided at Malfoy manor and that we will be back in time for dinner. I hope all of you had breakfast before you came here, but there will be some light snacks on the train. Hermione has a few instructions for you guys in the meantime." I say, and step aside to let her speak.

"Can everyone please find a partner to travel with?" she asks. "Once you do please come up and get a copy of our itinerary to share and a small questionnaire from me please. Please fill out the form quickly, we need the information to finish planning the last portion of our day."

We wait while everyone does so and collect them all magically once they've finished. Hermione takes them and places them in a neat stack before clipping it together and placing it in a special folder for reviewing later. I turn back to our class and continue with instructions.

"All right, now that we've completed the tedious parts of this trip, we will head down to the train platform in Hogsmeade. Please try stay with your partners, but if you really want to split up, try to keep an eye on them at least. It'll be easier that way to make sure we haven't lost anyone." I say. Hermione then continues with the second half of our first bit of details.

"From there we will take a subway train to Kings Cross station in London. We will board a muggle public transit bus and take it to Diagon Alley. Make sure to stick with the group. If you do get lost however, please send me a text or call me at 555-4743. I'll find a way to get back and find you. As we're leaving, I will pass all of you a ticket. Please hold onto it as you will need it to get on the bus." With that, she walks to the door and passes everyone a small red ticket as we leave the classroom.

We exit the school and walk down to Hogsmeade. From there we head to the station and go to the platform. There on the tracks, lies a much cleaner version of the subway train we procured just over a week ago. The doors of the train are open so that we have easy access to all the compartments for now. The two of us turn to the class to address them once more before we get on the train to travel to London.

"We're going to head out now. You may have about ten minutes to explore the train. Unlike the Hogwarts Express, you cannot move between cars once we've started moving so pick your car carefully. Every train car has two small TV-like screens, which will play a small video presentation once we start moving, and a small metal cart that contains some small snacks." Says Hermione.

We choose a car in the front of the train. When we walk in, we see that no one else is in here except for McGonagall and the conductor. We got quite lucky by finding her, she's a squib but she knows how to operate the train for us and happily took the job. It was a lot easier since it meant we wouldn't have to obliviate anyone.

In addition to the other upgrades we gave the subway train, we also put in two small tables on either end for people to play games on and whatnot. We decided to keep the posters and ads on the train since it would make it more realistic, but it also might provoke independent research of anything they might not know about or be curious of.

I turn to look at Hermione to see her looking at the bars along the ceiling with a thoughtful expression.

"You do know what they're for, right Hermione? It wouldn't do for the 'brightest witch of her age' to not understand something from the muggle culture she grew up with." I say in a bit of a teasing tone.

She snaps her attention to me and shakes her head as if to clear it. "What? Oh yeah. Of course I know what it is, the real question is if you know what it is." She replies with a hint of playfulness.

"Alright, alright, no need to get defensive."

"Defensive? How on earth was that defensive? You asked the question."

"That's true, let me elaborate. Why were you staring at the pole as if you couldn't figure out why it was there?"

"Oh! I was looking at it like that because I was wondering if I could hang from it. Not a lot of people know this, but my parents used to send me to gymnastics and dance classes before Hogwarts, and sometimes during the summer. I was never anything special when it came to that stuff but I did keep a couple tricks up my sleeve. One of the only things about it that I was good at was flexibility. I'm not as good as I used to be, but still better than most people our age. The trick I wanted to try in particular is where I would put my legs over the bar and… you know what, it would be a lot easier if I just showed it to you." She then pauses and looks very pensive for a bit.

"So why don't you?" I ask after a while, slightly confused.

"While I have no doubt that the bar could support my weight or that I can physically do it, I don't want to get in trouble with…" She says and gestures vaguely in the direction of the Headmistress. I grasp her meaning immediately.

"I'm sure she's fine with, you're the Golden Girl. No one would tell you off, you're every teacher's favourite. Well except for Snape, but he never liked anyone."

A voice called out from the front of the train compartment, "Do not presume to know what I do and do not approve of Mr. Malfoy. However Ms. Granger, I trust that you will not injure yourself just as I know that you know your abilities and your body's limits."

"I guess that's a yes then." Just as I say this, the train starts to move with a sudden jerk and I fall over since I lost my footing and crutches aren't the best for balance.

"Oh my gosh!" says Hermione. "Are you okay?"

I grunt in response as I sit up. She picks up my crutches and passes them to me while I grab a pole for support and stand up.

"Thanks." I say as I sit down across from her.

"No problem, but are you sure you're okay?" she asks.

"Yeah, I'm fine. Ego's bruised but other than that I'm good." I pause before continuing. "Are you going to try and get up there?"

"Oh right! I'll just take my purse off first." She then puts her stuff on one of the seats before moving to a section of the ceiling bar near the doors where there's more space.

Since she's a little shorter than most of the people in our year, she jumps a bit to get some more grip on the bar. She then tucks her legs up to her chest and leans back to hook them over the bar. After she does this, she lets go with her hands and arches her back to look at me. She smiles at me and waves before reaching back up to the bar.

I stare at her in wonder, amazed at how someone who is such a bookworm and nerd can just get up and hang from a bar as if it's the easiest thing in the world. She looked so happy doing it and I'm sure she's really proud of herself. As I think about this, she grabs the bar only to pull one leg off and lower it to touch her head as she leans back again. She finishes by getting off the bar and doing what I later find out is a 'present'.

"That was… very cool." I say, at a loss for more sophisticated words.

"Indeed Ms. Granger. You always provide many surprises." comments McGonagall from her seat at the front. She doesn't look up when she says this as she seems to be marking the video we made as it plays. We both smile to each other at her words.

Hermione then sits down next to me after gathering her purse. We talk for the rest of the ride as the video we prepared for our class ends and the compartment is just filled with our conversation.

* * *

I turn to look at the crowd of people milling around the bus stop and try to look for the right number. We've arrived at King's Cross and now we have to find the bus we're supposed to take to Diagon Alley. I try to find the map of bus stop locations that Hermione told me about, but there are too many people. I'm about to head back to the group when I finally spot a small metal stand with plenty of guides on it for the King's Cross bus depot. I grab one quickly before practically sprinting back to the group.

"There you are, we were worried you had gotten lost!" says Hermione as I cross through the barrier to Platform 9 and 3/4. She sounds exasperated, but there's an amused tone in her voice that makes me smile.

"Well it's quite busy out there and I couldn't find the maps you were talking about. Anyway, here's a guide to the whole depot. Our bus, the 56 should be near the main exit of the station."

"Great. Do you want to address the class?"

"Sure." I clear my throat to get their attention before they distracted once more. "Does everyone have their bus tickets?" I'm met with a chorus of 'yes's and a couple people raising their tickets in the air. I nod before continuing. "We're about to head out now. It's quite busy, so stay close. We don't want anyone getting lost today." They acknowledge me so we turn around and exit Platform 9 and 3/4 through the barrier.

As soon as we exit on the other side we get jostled around by everyone else rushing to wherever they're headed to. Hermione takes the lead and after about five minutes of walking we find the stop we need. We line up with a couple of other muggles and wait for the bus to arrive. Just a couple minutes after we arrive, a bus pulls up. It's about 1/3 of the length of the subway train and I notice how it lowers a bit when it pulls up to us.

We just manage to get everyone on board and the bus pulls away from the station. Hermione takes a brief count of everyone to make sure we didn't lose anyone and she looks satisfied with her tally so I assume we have everyone. It's quite crowded on the bus and we're pretty much standing shoulder to shoulder.

Many times throughout the bus ride, it stopped suddenly so many of us stumbled on fell onto other people. One of the times this happened, a muggle man fell onto Pansy. I look at her just in time to catch a glimpse of the look of utter horror, hate, and disgust on her face before she hides it and just looks at a poster with a very indignant expression. Her reaction makes me cringe and I can't believe that I used to be like that.

When we finally get far enough that our stop is next, Hermione pulls a wire along the inside of the bus to signal that we want to get out. We get out and our group enters the Leaky Cauldron. As we walk through the pub to the back entrance, I notice that there are a lot less people than usual but I guess it's because I only come during peak season.

We move through the pub and out to Diagon Alley. Once there, we find the floo points. I go first so that they all know where to go and so that there's one of us on either side to supervise. I walk out of the fireplace and immediately to clear space for the next person. Soon everyone is gathered and we get them to refer to the itineraries for the next activity.

"Alright, the next item on the agenda is lunch, though we are about 20 minutes late it. Since we're a little late we will have to cut lunch down to 40 minutes, but I don't think it'll be too much of a problem since most people finish their food in about 20. If everyone could please follow Draco to the dining room that would be wonderful." Hermione says.

I then lead everyone out of the living room and down the hall to the dining room. I hear some people marveling at the artwork displayed on the walls. Even though I did sell a lot of the art collection to help pay for this, it only took up about 30% of it which in itself is worth millions.

I didn't have to extend the dining room with an undetectable extension charm. The room is meant to hold a full Malfoy family or business meeting so it was large enough. Once everyone is seated, I call for Bipsy and ask her to start bringing out the food. I notice a couple of disapproving looks from some of the classmates but I just ignore them and join her to help get all the stuff from the kitchen. Hermione joins in as well and together we serve the class.

When we're done serving, Hermione and I get our own portions and sit down next to McGonagall. Lunch passes in a fairly quiet manner, but some of the groups have a bit of quiet idle chatter which reminds me of when we used to hold business functions here. Once most people are done, Hermione and I collect the dishes with a couple simple charms and bring them to Bipsy to wash in the kitchen.

"Is everyone done with lunch?" asks Hermione to the room. Immediately everyone quietens down and they acknowledge. "Excellent. We'll be heading outside now to the field land around Malfoy manor so please leave any belongings that aren't necessary to bring here. That way Bipsy can keep an eye on everything and reduce the chance of anything being stolen."

We then congregate outside just past the gardens that Bipsy maintains in memory of my mother. It's not quite the same, but still quite beautiful. My mother used to plant many different plants in the garden so that even when it was winter, there would be plenty of evergreen plants so it would never look dead.

We walk out to the field and many of the students are surprised to see a whole bunch of different muggle transport items. Thankfully it is sunny today so we didn't have to worry about anything getting wet or damaged. We get everyone to gather in the middle of the field and then give them instructions.

"For the rest of the afternoon, it's pretty much free time. Based on the partners from the beginning of the year, one of you will either be a muggleborn or you'll both be half-bloods. You should then have at least one person who will know roughly what all of this is. You can explore the different transport items here and Hermione and I will be circulating to keep and eye on everyone and offer assistance where needed. Do you want us to go over what we have here?" I ask once I've finished the rough briefing.

"Yes please!" says Hannah.

"Alright then." says Hermione. 'To our left we have two simulators, one is for a rocket ship used to travel in space, the other is an airplane simulator. We never did get to go on the the full trip back in November so we decided to include it here. To our right we have two cars you can try driving. Behind me there are a collection of bicycles and scooters. In front of us we have motorcycles. The only thing we could not find a way to acquire was a boat. You may go and explore now." She says.

They split off and the two of us keep an eye on everyone else. Neville and Cho try driving and i'm quite glad that I thought to put up magical barriers. They prevent one from leaving a certain area and in this case prevented Neville from mowing down Hermione and his girlfriend, Luna. His expression when he realized what had almost happened was hilarious, though I was still quite annoyed that he almost hit Hermione with the car.

Surprisingly, Blaise was one of the first to try using the motorcycle and proved to be quite adept at it. He only used for about 5 minutes the first time, but he kept going back to use it. I get the feeling he's become quite attached to it. Pansy on the other hand proved to be quite mopey about the whole trip and just sulked everywhere, refusing to participate in anything.

We finally call everyone back as the sun starts to set. Technically it's only about 3:50, but because of where the sun is, it feels like it's 6:00 pm. "Hello everyone, I hope you all enjoyed this trip. We will be heading back towards Hogwarts now. We should arrive shortly before dinner begins barring any incidents that may occur on the way. Same rules apply with the trip back. Remember that Draco and I can take away house points for any misdemeanors, as can McGonagall." says Hermione.

We lead everyone back inside to the living room so we can floo back to Diagon Alley. Before we do that however, we take a short stop at the dining room to collect people's belongings. I"m the first one through the floo once again, but before I go through I make sure to let Bipsy know what she needs to do in terms of cleaning up and leave her pay on the counter. Once everyone is through we head out to muggle London to wait for the bus to get us.

The bus is much quieter now since it's not quite rush hour. Most of us get seats, but Hermione, McGonagall, a couple of the students and myself stand. Since there are less people we get to the station much faster than I thought it would based on our earlier journey. We make our way in through the station to Platform 9 and 3/4. The train is already waiting for us and we board as quickly as possible since most of us are hungry and can't wait till we get back to school.

Hermione and I find the same compartment as before and we sit next to each other. As soon as we sit down and I place my crutches next to my seat, Hermione leans her head on my shoulder and lets out a huge sigh. She holds my right hand and fiddles with my fingers.

"Well that wasn't a complete disaster, but it was quite tiring. How were things on your end?" she asks me.

I think a bit before answering her. "It was okay, but I can't believe Neville almost ran you and Luna over. I mean I'm not the most knowledgeable on these subjects, but I'm pretty sure its a big no no to run your girlfriend over in both muggle and wizarding circles."

She laughs and I smile at the lightheartedness of it. "That's true. Luna wasn't too fazed by it though. In fact I think she found it quite funny."

"Well then. By the way did you see Blaise? He spent as much time as he could on the motorcycles." I say.

She lifts her head off of my shoulder to lean over and laugh properly. At first I'm sad that she moved away, but I grin when I see the expression of pure mirth on her face. "That's hilarious. I only know one other wizard who loved them, and that was Sirius Black. As long as Blaise doesn't become as much as a rebel as Sirius. He even has the black hair to match though."

I myself laugh at the thought of Blaise being compared to my second cousin. I haven't really met him, but the stories I've heard of him from listening in on the Golden trio back in sixth year are enough for me to understand what she means.

We discuss some other stuff on our way back to school, but it's just nice to have Hermione sitting next to me and chatting. When she leans on me it just makes me feel relaxed and warm. It's quite sad when we get to Hogsmeade and when she gets up; I feel a little colder without her next to me.

We take the class up to the castle and once they head off to the Great Hall for dinner, Hermione and I head back to our rooms to rest a bit before joining the crazy group of people that is our friends.

* * *

Author's Note: I'm really sorry about the wait for this chapter, my excuses are exams and culminating projects. I just realized while writing this chapter that I put Cho Chang in with the Eighth years even though she's actually one year older and would have already graduated. I'm sorry about that mistake, but for now we'll just pretend she's in the same year as them. Another note, I know the movies cast Blaise as an African, but the Blaise I'm familiar with is the fanon/Italian version of Blaise. I don't want to be whitewashing, I'm just used to Italian Blaise. Thanks for the support, but please review! Have a great week, till next time!


	42. Marking, Voices, & Tears

Disclaimer: I do not own the Harry Potter franchise, nor anything affiliated with it. I also do not own any songs used in this fic, all rights to those songs belong to the artists, go support their work on Youtube, Spotify, or other music platforms.

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Hermione's POV

I'm sitting at the kitchen counter of our common room on a transfigured bar stool since the couch is too comfortable to sit on and there's a lot more space here. About half of the counter is covered in sheets of parchment in varying sizes of stacks and Nat is currently sitting on the stack of exams that I've finished marking. I've gone through about half of an ink pot while grading these exams and I'm feeling so overwhelmed right now. I have to mark over 300 exams before Monday and it just seems like such a big task.

I groan into my hands and Nat looks at me with a worried look. She uncurls herself to pad over quietly and rub her head against my hands which are currently supporting my head. I lift my head to look at her and give her a small smile before picking her up and cuddling her in my arms. I nuzzle my head against her as gently as possible and wish that Draco was here so I could do the same to him. He left earlier to de-stress and fly for a bit before sitting down and marking all the presentations. We decided to divide up the workload like this since it would make it easier to get everything marked in time for exam result day.

With a final look at my mess of exams, I get up and grab my coat from a hook at the front. I slip on my shoes and start walking. I know that I'm stressed because of marking, but I'm also still stressed from doing exams. Being the brightest witch of the age doesn't come without hard work and struggles.

I kind of wander at first but I realize that my feet are taking me in the direction of the tower. When I get there I climb up the stairs to the astronomy tower and when I finally reach the top, I stumble to the edge and sit down.

I'm not quite sure what provoked it, maybe it was just stress, but I start crying. A lot. I bury my face in my hands and let the tears out. I allow the lump at the back of my throat to get bigger. As I do this, I start to feel a lot less stressed.

When I get sad, I tend to get as sad as humanly possible about as many different things as possible. Though I guess the feelings aren't relevant anymore, I reach back into my memories and remember when Draco and I first started becoming friends. I had an unlikely friendship with him, and I remember having doubts about whether or not we'd be able to continue with it. I remember a song from a movie I watched with Draco over the break. It was a great film, but this song in particular resonated with me.

Struggling to remember the words and with a shaky voice, I start to sing.

 _You know I want you_  
 _It's not a secret I try to hide_  
 _I know you want me_  
 _So don't keep saying our hands are tied_

 _You claim it's not in the cards_  
 _But fate is pulling you miles away_  
 _And out of reach from me_  
 _But you're here in my heart_  
 _So who can stop me if I decide_  
 _That you're my destiny?_

Even as I sing, my words are slightly warped from my crying. With tears still on my face and erratic breathing, I take a deep breath in and continue with what I've started.

 _What if we rewrite the stars?_  
 _Say you were made to be mine_  
 _Nothing could keep us apart_  
 _You'd be the one I was meant to find_  
 _It's up to you_  
 _And it's up to me_  
 _No one can say what we get to be_  
 _So why don't we rewrite the stars?_  
 _Maybe the world could be ours_  
 _Tonight_

This is one of my favourite parts next. There's a pessimistic viewpoint, but it's also what I hear in my head, from my rational side. With more power I start the next verse.

 _You think it's easy_  
 _You think I don't want to run to you_  
 _But there are mountains_  
 _And there are doors that we can't walk through_

 _I know you're wondering why_  
 _Because we're able to be_  
 _Just you and me_  
 _Within these walls_  
 _But when we go outside_  
 _You're gonna wake up and see that it was hopeless after all_

At this point I start gaining momentum, remembering my thoughts from before and the scene this song is from. My voice is starting to clear up and I allow myself to really feel the words.

 _No one can rewrite the stars_  
 _How can you say you'll be mine_  
 _Everything keeps us apart_  
 _And I'm not the one you were meant to find_  
 _It's not up to you_  
 _It's not up to me_  
 _When everyone tells us what we can be_  
 _How can we rewrite the stars?_  
 _Say that the world can be ours_  
 _Tonight_

I'm completely invested in the song now and I'm enjoying it quite a lot at this point. I feel so much lighter. I'm even moving my arms with the music and just relishing the feeling of it.

 _All I want is to fly with you_  
 _All I want is to fall with you_  
 _So just give me all of you_

 _It feels impossible_

 _It's not impossible_

 _Is it impossible?_

 _Say that it's possible_

 _How do we rewrite the stars?_  
 _Say you were made to be mine?_  
 _Nothing can keep us apart_  
 _Cause you are the one I was meant to find_  
 _It's up to you_  
 _And it's up to me_  
 _No one can say what we get to be_  
 _Why don't we rewrite the stars?_  
 _Changing the world to be ours_

I take a deep breath and calm down for the last section of the song. At this point I practically whisper the ending, partly because it's so low, and partly because I don't want to believe it.

You know I want you  
It's not a secret I try to hide  
But I can't have you  
We're bound to break and  
My hands are tied

"That was beautiful, you should sing more often 'Mione." I freeze where I sit and my blood runs cold. There are only three people who call me 'Mione, only two of them are male, and only one of them speaks like that. I turn around and there standing against the door to the astronomy tower, is Ronald Weasley.

I stare at him in shock, fear showing on my face. He's just standing there completely casual with his hands in the pockets of his jeans and his hoodie all wrinkled. I stand up and all of a sudden I feel anger building up inside me. Its like a flood of fury and soon I'm trembling because of it.

"What are you doing here." I practically spit. His eyes widen in shock and he straightens up when he sees how upset I am. If I'm not mistaken, I see a flash of fear in his eyes.

"Yeesh, I thought you'd be happy to see one of your best friends again." He says in a defensive tone.

"You cursed and assaulted my boyfriend. You betrayed my friendship and hurt someone I cared about. Now you just turn up out of the blue and expect to be all chummy? Do you know what it was like to hear you spout all that prejudiced nonsense after all we've done to eradicate it? It may have been towards the 'evil Slytherins', but when you turn the tables completely it's just as bad as it was before! My best friend suddenly became a monster and you would not listen to me! So don't come back here all casual expecting a warm welcoming. Do not try to be a nice now after all the awful things you did. At this point, you might as well have been a Death Eater."

Tears are once again flowing down my cheeks. I see him flinch when I mention Death Eaters and it seems like he might finally be understanding what I'm saying, but I'm too angry to listen to him. He attempts to apologize, at least I think he does, but I guess I'll never know. Instead I push past him and say, "Just leave me alone."

I don't see the crestfallen expression on his face, nor do I hear the apology or his explanation.

* * *

I check myself in the mirror once again to make sure I didn't miss any spots of dry skin. When I'm satisfied with my appearance I exit the bathroom and walk downstairs to try and get some more of my marking done. I only have tonight, Saturday, and Sunday to finish the marking and I realize that I definitely don't want to be a teacher. It's nice getting this experience, but Merlin's beard its stressful. I rub my face as I step out of the stairwell to enter the kitchenette only to be faced with Draco; leaning on one crutch and balancing two mugs of hot chocolate in one hand. When he turns and sees me, his face lights up in a beautiful smile.

"There you are! I was wondering where you'd gotten to since your stuff was here but you weren't. Do you want some hot chocolate?"

"Um… Sure." He then looks likes he's about to try and hobble over with the two cups and I immediately rush over reprimanding him. "Draco! Don't try to come over here. You're barely holding both of the mugs. What if you drop one while you're doing that?" He then looks at me with an expression that displays his bruised ego. I smirk at him and he just pouts instead. I sigh. "Fine, I'm sorry for scolding you. I'm really glad you made me this, thank you."

He brightens up almost instantly and I can't help but think that sometimes he can be so immature. However he's also really amazing. I take the mug from him and sit down on my stool from earlier. I try to focus on the exam so I can mark it, but I can't focus. The drama from earlier on the tower is still replaying in my head. I groan into my hands which attracts Draco's attention.

"Hey, what's wrong? If you're tired, go to bed and come back to this tomorrow. I'll neaten this up for you, just go lie down." As he says this I curse him inside my head. I can feel tears pricking my eyes, why does he just have to be so nice? Why did I have to like him? This could be so much less complicated if we just hated each other.

Though I try my best, a traitorous tear makes its way down my cheek and he immediately spots it. He grabs a tissue from the counter and wipes it away. It just makes me cry harder. I don't deserve this wonderful person. If it wasn't for me, he wouldn't have been in a fight with Ron in Diagon Alley. If it wasn't for me, he wouldn't have been attacked in Hogwarts. If it wasn't for me, he wouldn't be sitting here almost crippled.

I sob harder, hating every second of it. He just conjures another stool and sits next to me. He pulls my hair out of my face and rubs my back. "Shh… just let it out. You can tell me later if you want." He whispers to me. I try to calm down, so for the second time today I start singing. It's soft and barely intelligible, but I start to sing a small segment of a song I found in Fourth year.

 _I heard a voice from the other side singing,_  
 _"Hold fast, love last"_  
 _As winter turns into summertime singing,_  
 _"Hold fast, love last"_  
 _I heard a voice from the other side singing,_  
 _"Hold fast, love last"_  
 _As winter turns into summertime singing,_  
 _"Hold fast"_

Draco stays silent throughout and just sits next to me, ever so patiently. I then sing the part I most want to convey to him. My biggest fear is losing him. I've already lost Ron, and Harry is so far away. Draco is probably my best friend out of all my friends, and to have him torn away from me would be awful. The dreamer in me wants him to stay with me forever, but the rational part of me is saying that it'll never work, that this is all a dream or that it's a joke.

 _So let's dance a little, laugh a little, and hope a little more_  
 _Yes, let's dance a little, laugh a little, and hope a little more_  
 _'Cause I don't want to live without you_  
 _No, I don't wanna live without you, without you_

I see a flicker of understanding in his eyes when I look up to see his face. He smiles at and wraps his arms around my shoulders.

"I'll never leave you Hermione," he whispers, "if I have to rewrite the stars I will do it." His words make me shiver at how much it echos what I sang earlier.

"Um... well if you were wondering why I'm upset, the other reason besides what I said, well sang, earlier is that Ron's back. I forgot he's here for the second semester as part of his punishment." I can see Draco's eyes darken as I say the name of my old best friend. He unconsciously tenses up, but who can blame him?

"If the Weasel so much as breathes in a way that makes you feel uncomfortable, tell me okay? I promise that he'll pay for anything out of line." The darkness of his words makes me feel a little uneasy, so I try to lighten the mood a bit.

"It's alright Draco, you forget that I could just remove house points from him. He isn't exactly in everyone's good books right now, especially with Ginny. If he loses points for Gryffindor like he used to, I doubt he'd live long enough to regret it. Draco just nods and I decide to not push it any further.

After awhile we both by unspoken consensus get up and go to bed without clearing up. I stumble onto my bed, barely aware of my surroundings and have a restless night filled with promises, arguments, and teardrops.

* * *

Author's Note: The names of the songs as they appear are Rewrite the Stars from The Greatest Showman, sung by Zac Efron and Zendaya, and Without You by for King and Country feat. Courtney. I had an idea for a chapter and I got the ideas out. It isn't great and I re-wrote it a couple times, but I thought I owed you guys some more content and I had some time. The tone of the characters may have changed a bit, and I apologize if you don't like it. I just read a couple really good fics recently so I've adopted some stuff unconsciously. Thanks for the support guys, but please review! I love hearing from you guys, even criticism since it's still feedback. Have a great week guys, till next time.


	43. Realizations, Fails, & Reminders

Disclaimer: I do not own the Harry Potter franchise, nor anything affiliated with it.

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Draco's POV

I'm are just walking in to our first period class of charms when I'm pushed aside by a grumpy Pansy. Thankfully Hermione was standing slightly behind me so she managed to catch and help steady me before I fell. Pansy turns briefly to see who she hit and when she's it's Hermione and I, she just sends us a withering glare. I'm confused by this but the two of us find a seat together near the front of the class.

About 2 minutes before class is supposed to start I see Weasel run into class, obviously flustered and tired after supposedly running here. He enters and look around only to see that there's just one seat left that isn't at the front of the class, next to Pansy. I can see him make a face and I smirk to myself. He drags himself over to her and sits as far away as possible. To her own credit, Pansy doesn't even flinch she just glares at a piece of paper in front of her.

Professor Flitwick comes up to stand in front of the class and we quiet down pretty quickly. "Hello class, today we will start by assigning partners for a beginning research project. I will give you the topic and you will have today, tomorrow, and the day after to finish them. They will be presented on Friday in whatever format you would like, though marks will not be given for creativity.

In terms of partners, you will be partnered up as follows. Neville and Ernie, Padma and Michael, Anthony and Zacharias, Hannah and Terry, Amalie and Tracy, Blaise and Millicent, Justin and Dean, Pansy and Hermione, and finally, Ron and Draco. You may now find your partner and begin your research. The topics you may choose are on the board and will be assigned on a first-come first-serve basis."

I practically have a heart attack when I hear the name of my partner. I really don't want to have to work with Ron. Not after everything he's done to me. Stealing a glance at Hermione I can see that she looks like she wants to be anywhere but here right now. I can understand why, Pansy seems even more annoyed with her than usual. I get up and carry my stuff while leaning on my crutches, and walk over to Weasley as slowly as humanly possible. I sit down and he only acknowledges me with a grunt, not even bothering to glance in my direction.

With a sigh I pull out my folder for this class and title a quick sheet for today with details on this project. When I finish writing this down I take note of what topics are still left on the board and jot them down as well. I turn to Weasel and try to get his attention.

"Weasley! Hello? Anyone home?" I ask and he just turns to face me with a bored expression. I'm actually glad he's like this because I really don't want to get attacked again. "The last topics available to do this project on are reversion spells, water making spells, and the advantages of non-verbal spells. I don't particularly care what topic we choose, so how about you?" Suddenly he snaps and I automatically shrink a bit.

"I don't care what we do, and I don't really care about being here right now. If it wasn't for you, I'd still be an Auror right now and Hermione would still be my friend. So if I was you I'd just shut up ferret, choose the topic and do the research yourself." I nod as dignifiedly as possible and berate myself for letting him get the upper hand. I shouldn't be shying away from him. I should be taking away house-points or telling Flitwick. However, even as I think this, I can't bring myself to actually do any of it due to the awful weight of fear settling in my stomach. This is going to be an interesting semester indeed.

I go up without Weaselbee and tell Professor Flitwick that we would like to research reversion spells. He writes our names down for it and it disappears off the list on the board. I sit back down next to Weasel and pull out my laptop to see if I can find some online sources for our topic. I managed to find an online wizarding research journal in one of the newer muggle studies textbooks. It can only be accessed if you search with the url.

I've just logged on and I'm about to start typing in the website's url when Ron notices what I'm using and stares at me, confusion evident on his face.

"Are you using a piece of muggle tech?" He asks, spluttering the whole time.

I see an opportunity to snark him a little bit, so I smile at him very condescending and say, "Why yes I am Weaselbee. In fact, I've been using laptops since the beginning of the school year. I also own a smart watch, phone, and regularly watch movies on a TV with your old girlfriend." I'm not quite sure why, but I felt like twisting the knife a bit with that last part. Not the smartest thing for me to do, but I finally had the high ground.

Just as he was about to retaliate, the bell rang signalling the end of class. I quickly shut my laptop and slipped it into its bag before taking both my folder and laptop bag to place them into my main bag. I stand up and grab my crutches from their spot against the table. As I do so, I see Weasel stare at me with a shocked expression for the second time today.

"Ferret, why are you using crutches." He asks me. I'm surprised by the fact that there is no malicious tone in his voice. In fact, I'd say he sounded a bit curious. I was expecting some teasing or insults, but none come.

"Why do you think Weaselbee? Perhaps it has something to do with the fact that you attacked a student in Hogwarts, a previously injured student no less." I say in a passive voice.

"Wait, are you saying that I did this?" He asks in a quiet voice.

"That is exactly what I'm saying. Are you trying to tell me you don't take the responsibility to find out what happened to your victims?" I say bitterly.

He just looks shocked and almost stumbles when he hears this. I'm about to leave when I hear him whisper something. "I didn't know you were the crippled civilian." It was said so quietly I almost miss it. It's not quite an apology, but it's acknowledgement and I guess that's a step forward. I don't like holding grudges anymore, it saps your soul after awhile. I give him one more hard look before leaving the classroom as steady as I possibly can.

I exit into the hallway and make my way to our Alchemy class. I walk in just in time and find a seat next to Blaise. Hermione is already sitting at the back of the room with Padma Patil and Terry Boot. There aren't too many students here in this class, but that's because Alchemy is an elective class and it's quite advanced.

Professor Laporte is an older french teacher, but she is rumoured to have been one of the few teachers who are so well respected in their communities and are so well versed in their subject that they can actually teach at multiple schools. She seems a little stern, but not quite as much as McGonagall. She has grey hair and blue eyes, and she's wearing a set of brown functional robes. She carries herself with authority, but her eyes are kind and have a similar twinkle in them to Professor Dumbledore.

She calls for our attention and we quieten down. She then flicks her wand and the board at the front is suddenly filled with an introductory list of alchemy topics and course breakdown. "Welcome students to Alchemy. As I'm sure you all know, this is a NEWT only class and is only taught when there is enough demand for it. You are the first class to actually meet the minimum demand for this course in over 15 years here at Hogwarts. As such, I'm a little rusty in the actual teaching but I hope to make to make this quite enjoyable for all of you. We will start today with a simple overview of what we'll be doing this semester and the basic principles of Alchemy, as well as some safety rules."

The professor then pulls out a folder of copies of the outline and uses magic to distribute them quickly. I pluck mine out of the air and read through it. She then explains it to us and goes over how all of this will lead to the final project. We go over the basic philosophical principles of alchemy; Sulfur: the soul, Mercury: the spirit, and Salt: the body. It's quite fascinating, but a little complicated. I make sure to take as many notes as possible so I can easily research this later.

She then dismisses us when the bell rings and I struggle to catch up to Hermione, who is discussing something with Dean. When she sees me, she discreetly ends the conversation and runs over to meet me.

"What'd you think of Professor Laporte? I thought she was quite nice. She really seems to love this subject, it shows when she's speaking of it." Hermione says.

"Yes she is. I think she's kind, but I also still wouldn't push it with her. She seems to have an air of authority that you wouldn't want to cross." I reply.

"That is very true." She says.

"Hermione, why was Pansy so upset with you this morning?" I ask her. I've wanted to know since Pansy first bumped into me this morning, but I never got Hermione alone to ask her.

"Oh… I may or may not have failed her. It's nothing personal, she just didn't meet the requirements of the course. Since she failed, she's had to retake Muggle Studies this semester.

If I remember correctly, she's been assigned to tutor Ron in it and is his partner. I can't wait to see how that'll go. I'll be surprised if they haven't killed each other by next week." I can't help but laugh at her explanation. It explains why she was so upset this morning. I can totally understand her attitude now.

We head down to the Great Hall for lunch and sit with Ginny, Blaise, Neville, and Luna like usual. Weasel is sitting on the far end of the table glaring at all of us, but we just ignore him.

"Hey you two, you're in charge of student events right? Are we going to have a Valentines dance or what? It'll be pretty cool if there was one. We could decorate the hall in pink and red, maybe even get-" Hermione cuts Ginny off before she can go any further. I'm glad she did because Ginny seems like she could talk about this for ages.

"We actually haven't thought about that. I completely forgot in all honesty, what with exams and marking them. Draco and I can talk about this later. No promises, but I'm sure we can do something." Hermione replies to her.

"Yay! I hope you can. We haven't had one at Hogwarts before, but I mean this seems to be a year of firsts." says Ginny.

We then move the conversation on to other topics. We mostly talk about Quidditch since Hermione is the only one who isn't that interested in it, but even she has a rough idea what we're talking about.

I'm surprised by Ginny's request for another ball. She's usually so much of a tomboy, but I guess even she likes being a girl sometimes. I was equally surprised by how quickly Hermione dealt with it as well. I hadn't even thought about it either. The only issue is that Valentine's day is about a week and a half away so planning will be a nightmare. I guess we could do a spring dance instead, closer to the end of February. I make sure to file these ideas away in my head for later so I can tell Hermione.

We spend the rest of lunch conversing before Hermione and I leave a little early to switch our books before our afternoon classes. As we're walking to Defense Against the Dark Arts, I realise that I should probably start thinking about what to get Hermione for Valentine's day. I silently thank Ginny for reminding me before we walk into Professor Lerwick's class. Hopefully he'll be a good professor and we actually keep this teacher.

* * *

Author's Note: I'm sorry about the shorter chapter, it was either update early with less content or update late with the normal amount of content. I realized that I've completely glossed over the fact that all the subjects need teachers, and it turns out many of them do not. Therefore, I've had to create even more made-up professors for this to work. Pansy and Ron are finally entering the picture and things are going to start getting a little more interesting; I have a lot of ideas, it'll just take awhile to get to them. Thanks for the support, I really appreciate it, but please review! Have a great week, till next time!


	44. A Grab, Old Notes, & Overreactions

Disclaimer: I do not own the Harry Potter franchise, nor anything affiliated with it.

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Hermione's POV

I stumble into the common room of my dorm and promptly collapse on one of the couches. My ferret, Nat, crawls over from her perch by the window and sits on my thigh. I pet her head and allow myself to relax a bit.

Ron came up to me after Defense Against the Dark Arts in an attempt to apologize. It immediately dampened my mood and I got angry at him so I tried to walk away from him. He grabbed my wrist when I did so, and though I don't think he was intending to hurt me, I panicked and slapped his face with my free hand. He released my hand and I ran all the way back here. I'm not entirely sure why I reacted the way I did. However it probably had something to do with the injuries he inflicted upon Draco. I shudder as I remember what he looked like when I visited him in the hospital after the second attack.

I realise that I was supposed to meet with Pansy after class so that we could work on our Charms project. I groan and slowly get up off of the couch. I gently place the sleeping Nat on the armrest of the couch and exit our dorm to head to the library.

As I walk, I keep an eye out for any red hair so I don't have a repeat of earliers incident. I also make mental note to keep an eye on the time so that this meeting doesn't go too long. I have to meet Draco later to discuss what we're going to do for the semi-formal dance. I remember the conversation we had on this topic.

 _We've just entered our dorm after dinner when a thought pops into my head. I say it before I can forget once again._

 _"I was wondering, Ginny and the others seemed pretty interested in a dance. If we decide to go through with it should we make this like a semi-formal dance? If we make it a semi, we can host it sometime in early March. That'll give us an extra few weeks to plan for it." I ask Draco._

 _"That's a good idea. I was thinking the same thing and we probably should do this dance. We didn't do a yule ball so I think it would be nice if we did a semi-formal." He says._

 _A thought comes to my mind after a pause in our conversation. "Should we plan a set time to work on this?" I ask._

 _"Yes we should. That way we can plan around school work."_

 _"Okay how about this Wednesday?"_

 _"That should be okay." He confirms._

When I get to the library I see Pansy sitting by herself at a table near the back. I walk over and apologize as soon as I'm close enough.

"Sorry Pansy, Ron was was being a git and I got distracted. I'm sure you know what I'm talking about." She sends me a withering glare before replying to me.

"Of course I know Granger. You're the reason I've been partnered with the imbecile for the rest of the year." She says in a very bitter tone. "Anyway let's get this over with, I have no wish to fail yet another course because of you."

I hold my tongue and just sit down across from her as I pull out my charms notebook. "So our topic for research is the benefits of non-verbal spells. What do you already know on the subject? Am I right in assuming that you guys covered part of this last year."

"Yes, briefly. I'm sure you already know all of this information. So if it weren't for the fact that I'll get docked easy marks for not doing anything, I'd leave you to do all of this. Since that is not an option though, I've compiled all of my old notes on the topic. You may use any of them and their subsequent citations. Do what you want with this, I honestly don't care. Depending on what you take from this, I'd like to present the topics highlighted. Goodbye." She then stands up after placing a small pile of parchment in front of me. She stalks out of the library before I can even process what she just said and what it entails.

I blink a bit before looking down at the package she placed in front of me. There's a decent amount of parchment, I can't help but wonder when she had the time to compile all of this. I take the stack and place it in my purse. I guess its good she walked out since it means I can head back early. I would definitely feel safer than being here in the library where I'm exposed, not to mention there's more space in my room if I decide spread all of my stuff out.

I enter my dorm through the portrait and take my shoes off. There's another set of shoes by the door that I haven't seen before, but I just assume that Draco's gotten a new pair. As I get closer to the common area I see Draco on one of the couches and I smile at him. Just as I'm about to ask him what he's doing, I spot Ron sitting opposite from him and I freeze. My facial expression morphs from a smile into an expression of anger and fear.

"Hermione, I just wanted to say that I'm s-" Before Ron can complete his sentence, I practically run right past them and up the stairs to my room.

How dare Draco bring him back to our room? After the incident I just had with Ron? Not mention we planned to meet in just under 45 minutes. I can't believe Draco was actually okay with being in a room with just Ron considering his own history.

Just before I reach the door to my room I hear Ron ask, "Wait, what's with Hermione? I just wanted to apologize to her and she went ballistic. Have you been poisoning her against me?" The last bit sounds like an accusation against Draco.

I feel myself getting angrier as he says this. I feel like going back down there and explaining why I'm upset when Draco comes to my defense. "Why do you think Weasel? Half of our class saw the stunt you pulled after Defense. If someone is looking uncomfortable or tries to leave, you leave them alone. Especially if you have a history of violence. You of all people should understand why she reacted the way she did." I smile ruefully to myself at his words. At least he has the decency to defend me.

I'm just about to close my room door when Nat squeezes in after me. She immediately hops up onto my bed while I shut the door. I sit down at my desk and pull out Pansy's notes from my purse. I set them on the table and start a playlist of music to help me concentrate. I read through the package and make my own edits as I finalize the information to be used in the presentation.

At one point Nat jumps up onto my filing cabinet next to my desk, lies down, and watches me work. Most of the notes she wrote were easy to turn into a presentation. By the time its 6pm, I've completed about half of it with cue cards for both Pansy and I. With a sigh, I place my pen in it's holder before stretching my arms out in front of me. I get to work and start on a rough plan for the semi-formal dance after doing a small portion of my Defense Against the Dark Arts homework to past the time. I'm just finished a seating plan and floor plan for the dance when hear a knock at my door.

I get up very hesitantly and slowly walk over to open the door. I crack it open just a smidge and see that it's Draco leaning on his crutches. I sigh and let him in.

"Hi, sorry about that Hermione. I had to do some work with Ron for the Charms project and I wanted to do it in a place I was more familiar with." He says. It's obvious he isn't apologizing for being late to work on the dance. I decide to see where he goes with this so I can give him more of a chance to remember about our plans for tonight.

"It's okay, I just wished I had some warning. It's funny, I was thinking about it earlier and I realized that there isn't that much to be afraid of Ron for. His magic is regulated to classroom purposes and he can't use it outside of that."

"That is very true. How's your Charms project going? Is Pansy okay to work with?" He asks me.

"It's been okay, she actually gave me a stack of notes to use when creating the presentation, but left me to do it myself. I've completed about half of it and I've finished all of the cue cards. What about you? Is Ron being a clueless idiot like he used to?"

"Quite. You have to wonder if your intelligence will decrease by spending too much time with him." I laugh at him remark and I can tell he's pleased that I found his joke funny. I then decide to choose now to confront him.

"Draco, don't think you've forgotten something about tonight?" I ask him.

He doesn't respond for a moment and I can tell he's panicking in his head and thinking about all the possible things he could have forgotten. "Did I forget about an anniversary? Is it your birthday… no, its on September 19. What did I forget?" He looks so cute when he's doing this and I almost forget my anger because of it. However when I remember why he's panicking it comes back in full force.

"We were supposed to work on this dance, or has it completely slipped your mind?" I raise my voice as I say this. Maybe I'm being irrational right now. I'm probably overreacting over something rather insignificant, but I'm Hermione Granger, when do I not do that? I used to react even more extremely when Ron and Harry didn't do their homework.

His eyes widen in shock as he remembers our conversation from Monday. "Oh Merlin! Hermione I'm so sorry, I completely forgot. Did you already start working on the plans for the dance?"

"Of course I did, what do you think I would have done instead? I actually kept track of the time and started work on what we said we would do this evening." As soon as I say the words I realize how petty I'm being. The hard mask I'm wearing crumbles then and I just take a deep breath and sigh, placing my head in my hands. I hear him shuffle closer to me and I soon feel his arm wrap around my shoulder. He leads me to my bed and we both sit on the edge of it. "I'm sorry Draco. I don't really know why I got so mad at you. I just felt so angry with you since I walked in earlier and saw Ron."

"Shh, it's alright. You're probably just stressed and needed to release some of it. I should have told you that Ron was coming over as well. I'll make sure I do so in the future." He pats my back and transfigures a scrap piece of parchment on the floor into a tissue for my nose.

I take the tissue when he passes it to me and I blow my nose. I wipe my eyes carefully trying to not smudge my tears all over my face. When I think I've cleaned up enough, I thank him.

"Thank you Draco for being patient with me, you didn't deserve that. Can we reschedule our meeting for tomorrow at the same time?" I ask him.

"Of course. I'll make sure to put some reminders on my phone. Ron and I should be able to finish the rest of our presentation during class so I shouldn't be busy." He replies.

"Alright then. We should probably get started on the rest of our homework now." I say.

"Sure." He responds. "Are you going to work up in your room tonight?" He asks me.

"Yes, I'm already set up here on my desk. Sorry." He smiles at me before getting up and standing with his crutches.

"It's alright. I have patrols tonight anyway, I should probably leave now." He says.

"Okay, good night I guess." I say to him.

"Yeah, good night Hermione. See you tomorrow morning." He then turns and leaves my room.

I pick myself up off of my bed and return to my desk. I bury myself in my Defense Against the Dark Arts homework before moving onto my work for Alchemy. I just spend the night doing homework with a clear head this time and complete focus. By the time I finish it's almost 11 so I crawl into my bed after getting changed and fall asleep with Nat on my pillow beside me.

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Author's Note: Sorry about the shorter chapter. I'm trying to build up to the next parts in the story which I've mostly planned out. So hopefully updates may be up faster, but we'll have to wait and see. Thanks for all the support, please review though! Feedback is most welcome, even negative stuff. Have a great week, till next time.


	45. Requests, Appointments, & Contracts

Disclaimer: I do not own the Harry Potter franchise, nor anything affiliated with it.

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Draco's POV

It's been around a week since Hermione and I first started working on the semi-formal dance. We've planned out most of it and we just need to decide on the exact times for it and finalize the menu. We've had to reschedule our meetings a couple of times because our partners for projects have always pulled us away to work on them. It's a miracle we've actually gotten anything done at all, the only reason we have this much done is that we can drawn off our plans from the Halloween ball.

We've set a theme of musicals and musical films so you can come dressed as your favourite character from one. We also have a karaoke theme once again in terms of music, but the songs all have to be from a musical. Ginny recommended that theme since she has a particular soft spot for muggle musicals. She keeps telling me that I have to listen to one called 'Hamilton', but I have absolutely no idea why.

I'm currently working on getting a collection of karaoke tracks for all of these musicals and its taking quite a lot of time. We drafted a list of the musicals we want songs from, but will be able to do recommendations on the night of if we're given advance notice. The list currently includes songs from Hamilton, High School Musical 1-3, The Greatest Showman, Newsies, Wicked, The Sound of Music, Grease, West Side Story, The Phantom of the Opera, Joseph and the Amazing Technicolour Dreamcoat, Annie, Singing in the Rain, Mary Poppins, Cats, The King and I, Hairspray, Mamma Mia, and The Book of Mormon. I'm personally worried that some of these will be too obscure for people to recognize, especially since they're all muggle.

I check my watch and see that it's almost 8:20. I should probably go get Hermione so we can head to McGonagall's office and travel to the Auror department. I was in my room yesterday when I got the letter about today.

 _I get up from my desk and stretch my legs for a bit. I walk around my room, as steadily as possible without my crutches, and just before I can sit back down again I hear something pecking at my window. I groan and walk over to the window to let in a rather fancy looking Great Horned Owl. It swoops in and lands on my desk where it deposits a letter. I quickly rummage in my desk to find a treat for it. Once I give it to him he swoops back out leaving me alone._

 _I pick up the heavy manilla envelope and open it with the letter opener lying on my desk. Inside is a formal letter from the Ministry, signed and approved by Kingsley Shacklebolt._

 ** _To Mr. Draco Malfoy,_**

 ** _Your request delivered to the Head of the Department of Aurors, Harry J. Potter, has been approved as of February 18th this calendar year. You have a visitors time slot for two people from 8:30am to 9am on February 19th. To avoid any accidents or incidents, your time slot cannot be moved and you must be ready at the time indicated._**

 ** _At your time slot, please arrive at the Department of Aurors on the third floor of the Ministry of Magic 10 minutes before your time slot. This will allow time for check-in, verification of identity, and registration. You and your guest are to register at the front desk of the Department where you will be met by Auror Potter who will escort you to Azkaban._**

 ** _In Azkaban you be taken to a visitors room where you will be given half an hour to speak to Mr. Lucius Malfoy. Auror Potter will be stationed outside the room and you will be recorded. Should you wish to leave earlier than the end of your time slot, simply knock once on the door and you will be escorted back to the Ministry of Magic._**

 ** _Inside this envelope you will find two tickets to confirm your appointment upon your arrival at the Department on February 19th. You are required to bring your wand which will be used for identification and will be held until your return after the visit. In addition, you are both required to bring a seperate piece of identification (e.g. birth certificate or wizarding registration card)._**

 ** _Cordially, the Department of Aurors_**

 ** _Signed and approved by_**

 ** _Kingsley Shacklebolt,_**

 ** _Minister of Magic_**

 _I then reach into the envelope and pull out a simple ticket with details on my appointment. My first thought is that I've finally had my request approved. I sent in the request on January 6th, the first working day after Hermione and I went on our date to muggle London. I was honestly beginning to think that they hadn't approved it and had just dismissed it out of hand. My second thought is that Hermione and I will have to inform Headmistress McGonagall about this so we can get permission to leave. Hopefully she'll grant it without too much trouble._

In the end she was happy to let us do this as she thought it would be good for both me and my father. I make sure to grab the tickets and leave everything but my crutches, ID and wand behind. I walk out of my room and see that Hermione is already downstairs. When she sees me walk down the stairs, she just nods at me and we walk towards McGonagall's office.

We knock on McGonagall's' office door and she calls for us to enter. She motions for us to go and use the fireplace while she continues writing on her parchment. Hermione goes first since she's been to the Auror Department before. After throwing the floo powder in and stepping into the emerald flames it's my turn to go through.

I step through the flames and appear in a white hallway with black tile. Hermione is standing just off to the side and she joins me once I'm through. She leads me to the front desk where we sign in and hand over our wands to man sitting there. I give him our tickets and he stamps them. He asks to inspect my crutches and I comply. Once he's done with all of that, he pages Potter to come to meet us.

I look up when I hear a click to see Potter striding towards us with his Auror robes billowing behind him. Of course, because even as a well respected and working adult, he still has to be overly dramatic in everything he does. He walks over to us and moves to shake hands with me before giving Hermione a big hug which makes me feel a little awkward.

"Alright, we better start moving so you can make the most of your time here Malfoy." says Potter.

We then walk down a side hallway, with him in the lead, that takes us to a room with a small apparition platform. He grabs both of our hands and guides us with side along apparition. We arrive in a white chamber with a platform just like the one in the room we were just in. Potter then opens a door to our left and we walk out into a grey hallway.

We walk down a series of corridors until we reach a set of rooms with a window looking into each so that the Aurors can supervise visitors. We reach one near the end and I see my father sitting inside of it. To my surprise, he's wearing a set of rather clean basic robes as opposed to the regular prison uniform. Potter opens the door for me and I walk in. My father looks up when I enter and for the first time in 5 months I'm staring right into his cool, grey eyes.

"Hello Father. How have you been?" I say as I take a seat opposite at the metal table.

"I've been quite alright. It turns out they switched out using the Dementors in Azkaban and replaced them with Aurors. It's a lot nicer in here now, at least that's what the people who have been here since before me say." I can see that though he sounds calm, he eyes are a little haunted. "How's life at Hogwarts been? Getting along with the Head Girl?" He asks me with a bit of a teasing smile on his face. His behavior is quite surprising since I assumed he'd be completely dead inside by the time I'd get a chance to visit him.

"School has been going very well actually. I've made some better friends this year. Hermione, the Head Girl, has been quite helpful in studies and we've become quite close now. We got the opportunity to teach a class for the last few weeks of semester one and marked all the final activities in it." I say. There was more than that, but I don't want him to worry too much about me.

"Wow. Draco, how are the affairs of the Manor and the business going?" He asks me.

"Well, I don't spend much time dealing with anything to do with the business as the replacement CEO of the company has been doing well enough based on the reports I've received. The Manor is all taken care of, I've hired a house elf to deal with cleaning while I'm away since Mother is…" I can't bring myself to say dead. I've made peace with the fact that she's gone, but that doesn't mean I like saying it.

"That's right, I received a notice when she passed. I trust the Ministry helped you deal with the affairs and our lawyer did everything as correctly and as efficiently as possible?" He asks.

"Yes, we managed to get everything sorted within just a couple of days actually." I reply.

"Alright then. May I ask why you're using those…?" He then gestures towards my crutches. "Does it by any chance have anything to do with a field trip to Heathrow Airport in muggle London and being attacked by a group of Death Eaters? They attacked with muggle explosives am I right?" His statement makes me very suspicious. Though he could probably find this information out through prison gossip, especially since the captured Death Eaters would brag about it later, I'm surprised how much he knew about it.

"Yes it does." I say, carefully and slowly, making sure to gauge his reaction. He merely nods.

"Do you know what curse was used?" He asks me.

"Yes, well... Madam Pomfrey does, I actually never got a chance to ask her what it was. However like most dark magic, there is no known cure or counter-curse for it." I say.

"But that isn't the only reason you're still using them though, am I right?" This makes me even more suspicious. There is no way he would have heard about the attack at Hogwarts. The ministry shut the story down immediately and no details were provided on the case to the media. I highly doubt he would have heard about it from the other inmates here either as none of them were involved in it.

"You are correct once again father, though I must ask how you came to know about this information. It was not exactly public knowledge. I was attacked shortly after our incident at the airport while at Hogwarts." I say. I don't give away too much information because my father is starting to creep me out.

"Do you really want to know how I got that information?" He asks. "If you choose to know why, you have to promise me you won't tell anyone else unless its necessary." This bothers me even further and I wonder if I'd actually want to know why, but my curiosity gets the better of me.

"I'd like to know how you got that information father, if it's a security breach then I'll have to inform the Auror Department."

"I can tell you that it isn't a security breach at all and the Auror Department, at least the top ranking members of it, already know all about it. Perhaps it would be best if we call in Mr. Potter and your companion Ms. Granger." I'm becoming more and more confused with every sentence he speaks.

At that moment, Potter steps in followed by a confused Hermione. He's holding a small folder that I didn't see before.

"Mr. Lucius Malfoy, would you like me to help explain?" says Potter.

"Yes please. It'll probably make more sense if you do, though I may cut in every now and then to help with certain parts." replies my father.

"Alright then, everybody better take a seat because this'll take quite a bit of time. Also, don't worry about running over time, the time slot was merely for show and so that you'd have an excuse to leave Hogwarts and come here. The simplest explanation for this situation is that your father is now a contract worker with the Auror Department in exchange for cancelling his sentence. I'm sure this has raised multiple questions for both of you, but please let me finish explaining before you interrogate me."

He's quite right, I have many questions now but I'll let him finish in case he answers my questions in his tirade. Also, it'll probably make more sense if I hear the story in chronological order.

"Your father arrived in Azkaban and stayed clear of many of the other Death Eaters as, to my knowledge, he didn't want to get involved with that stuff again and had decided he was done with those ideas. They saw that as a betrayal and many fights ensued during the time they had outside of their cells."

My father then cuts in. "Those fights went unnoticed however since most of the guards didn't really care what happened to lowly Death Eaters." Potter nods and then continues.

"Well, later on he found out about the plot to attack Heathrow Airport but he didn't have that many details on it. He tried to report it to the Aurors on duty, but they didn't believe him and the attack happened anyway." That makes sense, I probably wouldn't have believed him either if I had been in their shoes.

"When we received the call about the attack from Hermione, I realised that perhaps it would helpful if we had someone with enough expertise and experience with dark magic and Death Eaters so that we could capture them more easily. Someone who would have been quite close to most of them, and that's when Lucius' situation was brought to my attention. Not to mention he could probably help identify the ones he knew about.

The other reason I wanted to recruit him was that our side was dealt a heavy blow during the war. We lost many good Aurors and we haven't been able to keep up numbers even with students who fought during the war being allowed to train without NEWTs. We're spread too thin especially since we now have Aurors guarding Azkaban and not Dementors."

While he explains this, I notice how tired Potter looks. He looks fine at a first glance, but then I notice the weary look in his eyes and the way his face is all creased, presumably due to stress.

"I planned everything with the contracts bound by magic and proposed the job to him." I'm not surprised he accepted, my father would do anything and everything to make sure he was in the good books of whoever was in power. However something about what my father said next made me think that wasn't the only reason why.

"I was quite happy to accept the job as I'm sure you can understand. However, I also believe that it's important to assist in the undoing of some of the atrocities and damage I helped commit against our society. I had plenty of time to reflect on that during the summer." says my father.

"So since then, he's been helping quite a lot with our investigations. He's pretty much replaced Ron on my field team. The reason why we have to keep this a secret is that we don't want Death Eaters being suspicious of him if he's ever caught. Most of the prisoners here are under the impression that he's still in prison but has been moved to maximum security holding cell due to an attempted escape that resulted in the 'death' of several Aurors." I gather that he's finished his explanation, but I wait just a little longer before asking my father a question.

"Father, how much do you know of what I've been doing at Hogwarts?" It's a rather simple question, but something that I need to clear up.

"Well I know a great deal about the more important things. For example, I helped conduct the investigation around the attack from Mr. Weasley and I assisted Madame Pomfrey with researching your curse and how the attack may have affected it. I'm very sorry that we couldn't find a counter curse for it. I also know all about your Muggle Studies work. I must say I'm quite impressed at all the work you accomplished, this goes for you too Ms. Granger. I don't quite approve of you selling almost 30% of your mother's art collection, but I do understand that it went towards a good use. By the way I must say that Bipsy is most kind and quite friendly, you made a good choice by selecting her for the Manor. All in all you've been up to quite a lot at Hogwarts and I'm very proud to call you my son. I know I have not said that nearly enough times in the past, but I hope that you'll believe me when I say this." My father's words make me want to hug him right now, but I keep my composure in front of my friends.

"I just have one more question, what does this mean in terms of the future? Will you be coming back to the Manor? Will I be seeing you in the future and how can I contact you?" It's actually a jumble of questions, but it all comes back to the same root of the future. I don't quite know what to do with all of this information and I feel kind of overwhelmed.

My father doesn't answer directly, but turns to Potter as if to ask him instead. Potter then sighs before responding, "Well, he's been given permission to apparate in and out of his cell here in Azkaban directly to my office. From there he's been apparating to wherever necessary and has gone to do some research in your Manor's library. I try to only visit him every now and then to avoid word getting out about this. Perhaps you should only meet in the Manor and maybe you could send letters there as well for him to read. Bipsy is quite trustworthy and I trust that the wards on the Manor are quite secure." I nod to him and gratitude and he offers a small smile back.

I then remember that Hermione has been here the whole time and I've barely acknowledged her. "Since we've gotten all of that official stuff out of the way, how about we talk about some lighter things. I'll start with this. Father I'd like you to meet Hermione Granger, my girlfriend. We've been dating since November." I'm a little scared of how he might react, but to my surprise he merely nods and reaches over to shake her hand.

"Ms. Granger, it is a pleasure to meet you. From what I've heard about you from Potter, you are quite a remarkable young woman with a very good head on your shoulders. I'm sure you'll be a fine match for my son." She looks a little lost but recovers quickly.

"Mr. Malfoy, a pleasure to meet you in a better situation for both of us than last. I'm glad to hear about your role in keeping the wizarding world safer. Don't worry too much about Draco's safety, he's been getting much better and he's made a lot of progress since the last incident. I won't let anything else happen to him while Ron's at Hogwarts as well." She says. Her words are more sophisticated and planned than when she usually speaks with me, but her tone is still quite warm and polite.

"I must confess, the circumstances of this meeting are much preferable compared to our last." replies my father with a hint of a smile on the corner of his mouth. I can tell he quite likes he humor and I hope they get along since one day they may end up spending time in each others presence on a regular basis.

Hermione laughs and it seems that the two of them have bonded over a small joke that may have been considered insulting to other people.

I glance at my watch and see that it's almost 10 am right now. We could go visit the Manor now and have lunch there instead if Potter was right about us being excused from school for the whole day and not just for our appointment slot.

"Potter, could we perhaps visit the Manor with my father?" I ask. He seems a little surprised by the question but recovers quickly enough.

"We'll have to find a way to conceal Mr. Malfoy from the sights of everyone else here, but we could use my invisibility cloak for that. I'm free for the rest of the afternoon as well because I wasn't sure how long this might drag on for." I take that as yes. He then reaches into his robes and pulls out a silky cloak.

"Are you all okay with having lunch at the Manor?" I ask my father and Hermione, and they both nod.

My father then takes the cloak and drapes it over himself so we can no longer see him. We go over and exit the room. We get to the apparition platform and as we grab each others hands I can feel something grab my free hand, presumably my father under the invisibility cloak.

We arrive in the Auror Department apparition chamber and exit to the front desk of the department so we can get our wands back. Once we're done there, we take the floo down to the Manor and arrive successfully in our living room.

My father hands back the cloak to Potter while I call for Bipsy. When she arrives, I ask her if she could makes some tea cakes and sandwiches for the group of us. She nods and runs off to the kitchen to prep everything. I motion for us all to sit on the couch and settle down.

We spend the afternoon chatting and telling my father about different things that happened this year. About the more mundane stuff like the muggle games we've learnt. About different muggle tech and how I've started using some of it. About what teaching was like. About how the Halloween ball went and how the Semi-Formal ball is coming along. We all loosen up and soon we're all laughing and talking like equals even though there are many differences between each of us ranging from gender, to age, to blood.

We end the afternoon by watching a muggle film called The Book Thief on a TV I had installed in one of the more empty rooms in the manor. Once we finish, Harry and my father leave for the Ministry and Hermione and I floo back to Hogwarts. Just before we leave however, my father pulls me to the side.

"Draco, thank you for visiting me. It means more than you can imagine. I'm so glad to call you my son. You've made so much progress in the last year alone, more than I could ever hope to accomplish. It was so nice to see you today. Also, make sure to keep Ms. Granger. She's a special one so take care not to lose her companionship." He then hugs me and for the first time in ages my thoughts go silent. I'm too stunned to think or come up with any words in response. Instead I just hug him back. There is so much emotion behind this hug that wouldn't be obvious to anyone else. I feel loved by him for the first time in years and I feel so much lighter right now.

When he finally lets go, the feeling doesn't go away though and I'm very grateful for that. Potter and Hermione have finished saying goodbye this point and instead Potter has come over to say something to me.

"Malfoy, I didn't say this earlier but one of the other reasons I offered your father the position is that I think he has lots of potential. I know he was right hand man to Voldemort, but I think he could do a lot of good. I'm willing to give him the benefit of the doubt and he's been great so far. You really should be proud of your father for changing so much. He's great to work with and is quite knowledgeable. I'm glad he wasn't part of the Heathrow gang otherwise I doubt you guys would have survived." His little speech is a little awkward and he jumps all over the place but I still grateful for this. If Potter can see some potential in my father than perhaps he really has changed for the better. I really hope he has.

"Thanks Potter. See you later then." I say. He nods and steps towards the fireplace to go back with Lucius to the Ministry. They leave and then it's time for Hermione and I to leave.

"Hermione, I just want to say thank you for coming today. You don't understand how glad I am that I got to see my father. Thank you for staying and sitting through all of that." I say to her and hug her.

When I pull away she responds. "It was no problem Draco. It was nice seeing you sort things out today. Your father seems much nicer than when we last met and I have to concur with him about our last interaction not being the best. Anyway, let's head back before the Headmistress sends a search party for us."

I smile and we enter the floo to go back to Hogwarts.

* * *

Author's Note: So sorry about the late update, I've been really busy with stuff at home, not even school work or anything. I've also had a lot of issues with stringing my ideas together and formulating everything, a.k.a. writer's block (or some modified version of it). Thanks for the support, but please review! Feedback of all types is welcome. I hope you guys have a great week, till next time.


	46. Chatting, Assumptions, & Moonlight

Disclaimer: I do not own the Harry Potter franchise, nor anything affiliated with it. I also do not own any songs used in this fic, all rights to those songs belong to the artists, go support their work on Youtube, Spotify, or other music platforms.

* * *

Hermione's POV

I take a step forward and suddenly I'm falling. As the world spins around me, at least the amount of the world I can see, I tumble down the stairs until I land in a heap at the bottom. I'm covered and tangled up with the large fabric decorations.

"Ow." I groan.

I definitely bumped my elbow, my knee, and my shoulders, and actually... everything. The stairs were obviously not where I thought they were. I struggle to pull myself out of the decorations and I find myself just getting even more tangled.

"Hermione? Hermione!" I hear Draco calling my name. Great. Now he's going to see me like this and realize I fell down the stairs. I'm never going to hear the end of this.

"Hermione? Where are y-. Hermione is that you?" He says, followed by lots of laughter. I glare in the rough direction of where I think he is from under the mess of fabric and try even harder to get out.

"Hermione, you do realize you're a witch right? You could have just levitated everything to the Great Hall and saved yourself all of this trouble." He says as I hear him getting close. Of course, he is correct, I can't believe I actually forgot about that.

He helps untangle me from the mess and sticks out a hand to help me up. I scowl at him but grudgingly accept the hand. I'm still mad at him for bailing last minute on the two most recent planning meetings, resulting in my planning almost all of the final details.

The worst part about him missing the meetings is that once I finished the work for those sessions, I had gone to the library only to find him chatting with other girls in our grade. One of the times he was sitting and laughing with Hannah, his new Charms partner and I couldn't help but feel a surge of jealousy. Based on what I could hear they weren't even on topic for their assignment, so he'd missed a planning session for small talk.

I left on both of those occasions before they realized I was there, and I made sure not to confront Draco about it later. I merely gave him the cold shoulder ever since and remained as professional as possible when I had to speak with him. I suspect he still doesn't know why I'm mad, and I'm quite happy to keep it that way.

I'm not quite sure what compelled me to do this, probably spite, but once I stand up, I gather the fabric in my arms once more and carry it without magic. Draco looks at me while I do this with an incredulous expression and just does a 'what do I know' gesture with his hands before walking back to the dorms to get the sound equipment we rented.

I continue down towards the Great Hall, and with a bit of struggling on my part, I manage to get everything hung up on the walls and ceiling. The prefects should be coming soon to help set up the smaller pieces of decor and set up the tables with the centerpieces and dishes. I use my wand to place the tables in our pre-arranged pattern. I step back to admire my handiwork and notice that Draco has been here for a while and is setting up the speakers and music for this evening. What really made me notice what he was doing, is when he plays a small snippet of a song from Hamilton the musical.

The song, from what I can tell, is Burn. Sung by the character Eliza Schuyler/Hamilton after Alexander Hamilton cheats on her. I find the irony right here hilarious. Suddenly, I know exactly what I'll do tonight.

I leave quickly and dash to the washroom before coming back just when the prefects enter the hall. I quickly delegate their tasks to them and we get it all set up much earlier than when we were doing the Halloween ball since we all knew what to do. When we're done, I step back and check to make sure everything's in place and that it looks good. The colour scheme I chose for this dance was Medium Sea Green, Saffron, Picton Blue, Purple Pizzazz, and Sasquatch Socks. They're bright and colourful, but are also bold and not too neon.

I then dismiss the prefects to go get ready for the ball. I take a look around the hall to see if Draco is still here. I can't seem to find him, so I assume he's gone back to the room. I head back as well and go straight to my room once I've gotten to the dorm. The semi-formal dance has fallen on a Saturday, so McGonagall allowed everyone to go to Hogsmeade in preparation for it. From my window, I can just about see the throngs of students going up and down the path from the castle to the village.

Thankfully, I was able to get permission from McGonagall to bring Ginny with me last weekend for dress shopping while it was quiet. She selected a long forest green dress to complement her red hair, while I chose a red swing dress since I've always loved how flattering they are. They also seem so cheery and have this wonderful vintage feel to them. I chose a red one because of how the colour stands out against my skin tone. This particular dress I had seen during one of my earliest Hogsmeade trips and I had made a note to try and get this dress when I had a chance. I'd forgotten though until Ginny and I went back to that boutique and one of the saleswoman came up to me. She said that she'd seen me eyeing this dress awhile back and, knowing that we had a dance coming up, had kept it aside for me.

It's about an hour and a half till the dance now. We decided to make the dance earlier than last time since it's a Saturday and people have had time since yesterday evening to get ready and we've had a lot of time to prep the hall. The menu is similar to last time, though we've focused on lighter and more fresh foods as opposed to the heavier pastries and quiches from last time. One of the dishes we selected were sandwiches made from cucumbers instead of bread, they're quite tasty and not as 'healthy tasting' as I thought they'd be.

I head to the bathroom and knock once to make sure Draco isn't in there. I wait a few moments before slowly opening the door just in case he didn't hear the knocking and is in there. When I enter there's no one there and I sigh in relief in my head. I bring my dress with me and start to warm up the shower. I undress and step in. I let the warmth of the shower wash away my stress and internal conflicts. I just enjoy the bliss of it.

When I'm done I step out and dry myself off with my towel before getting dressed. I slip on my dress and adjust it to fit me perfectly. I then pin up my hair as much as I can, but it's not that easy since my hair is usually untamable. Since it's wet it stays more than when it's dry, but it still doesn't do exactly what I want. When I'm satisfied enough with the state of my hair, I leave the bathroom and go back to my room.

I reach into my trunk and pull out my 'makeup' and face creams. I sit down in front of the mirror in my room and moisturize my face so I have a base to work with. I then apply a little bit of foundation on the more blemished parts of my face. Once I'm done with that, I pull out my lip balm to soften the skin on it and after a little bit of consideration, I apply a thin layer of light red lipstick. I then check my appearance over once again before choosing a necklace, not the one given to me by Draco but a silver and sapphire one to contrast the red of my dress, and a ring.

Once I'm satisfied with my appearance overall, I pack my purse and find a pair of shoes to go with my outfit. I settle on a pair of black mid heels.

I make sure I have everything before walking down to our common room and then out towards the hall. It's about half an hour before the ball, but I should be there early anyway since Draco and I, mostly just me, have planned this ball and should be overseeing most of it. I enter the hall and see that a handful of the teachers are sitting at their table, while only a smattering of the students are present. I spot Draco, all dressed up in a suit, next to the stage setting up the speakers and doing a double check of the sound systems. I do a onceover of the hall and see everything is ready but the food, however the house elves assured me this morning that everything will be ready to be set up onto the tables a half hour into the dance.

I find a table and claim it by putting my purse there and pulling out a couple spare cardigans from my purse to save seats for all of my friends. I notice Ginny and Luna walking in together and wave them over.

"Hey guys! How are you? You both look magnificent tonight." I say. Ginny is wearing the dress she bought when we both went dress shopping together, and she's paired it with a golden necklace and brown heeled sandals. Luna is wearing a knee length midnight blue dress with streaks of light blue and silver all over it. She's wearing silver earrings with it and a pair of silver slippers. I'm a little confused because it looks a little too normal for Luna, but I smile when I notice that the earrings are in the shape of her turnip earrings and you can see the shapes of different patronuses stitched onto the dress amongst the silver streaks.

"I'm doing well," says Ginny.

"There aren't too many Nargles here tonight." says Luna. She then stares off into space before looking back at me. "However, there do seem to be quite a few around you Hermione. Perhaps you should take my necklace to keep them away." She then reaches into a pocket I didn't notice in her dress and pulls out the necklace she usually wears before placing it in my right hand. "Here, keep that on you, they shouldn't bother you tonight now."

I smile at her and place it in my purse which I now pick up off of the chair since we can all sit together now and it shouldn't be too hard for the others to find us.

After about 10 minutes of the three of us chatting at our table, the guys join us including Draco.

"Hermione, we should go up soon to tell everyone what's on the agenda tonight." says Draco.

"Sure." I say, careful to keep my poker face on and my voice neutral.

He looks at me with a weird expression before leading me up to the stage.

"Hermione, we'll need to kick the night off with something, perhaps you could perform a song to get the ball rolling?" He asks me.

"Okay. I have something in mind actually. It should be on the list of songs you procured for us." He nods and shows me the little machine they're using for people to choose their songs. It's a standard application on a tablet so that if you know what you're looking for, it should be fairly simple to find in our database of music. I set up the song while Draco goes up and speaks to the now almost full hall. He talks about the muggle musical theme and explains how the song list works. He explains that the person after you will have the job of starting the song once you've selected it. He then says that I'll be introducing the night with the first song.

I then walk up and go up to a microphone. I then nod at him and he presses play. I can see a flash of shock and confusion flash through his eyes when he sees what the song is before I turn back towards the audience.

The introduction starts to play and I hope that I can remember all of the lyrics. Taking a deep breath I begin

 _I saved every letter you wrote me  
_ _From the moment I read them  
_ _I knew you were mine  
_ _You said you were mine  
_ _I thought you were mine_

I reach deep inside of myself and pull out every negative thought and emotion I've felt about Draco and him hanging out with other girls.

 _Do you know what Angelica said  
_ _When we saw your first letter arrive?  
_ _She said  
_ _"Be careful with that one, love  
_ _He will do what it takes to survive."_

The first thing I think of is jealousy. That time was supposed to be set aside for him and I to spend together. Yes it was for the purpose of work, but he still made the commitment and broke it. All for small talk.

 _You and your words flooded my senses  
_ _Your sentences left me defenseless  
_ _You built me palaces out of paragraphs  
_ _You built cathedrals_

 _I'm re-reading the letters you wrote me  
_ _I'm searching and scanning for answers  
_ _In every line  
_ _For some kind of sign  
_ _And when you were mine_

 _The world seemed to  
_ _Burn  
_ _Burn_

The second emotion to course through me is sadness. I'm sad because I don't know what this means for us. I'd be lying if I said that this isn't going to make a difference. I've made it into a difference. I've ensured that something has changed and I almost regret it. I want to go back to when we were together and we had all the time in the world, but now I think I've made this worse and we won't be able to.

 _You published the letters she wrote you  
_ _You told the whole world how you brought  
_ _This girl into our bed  
_ _In clearing your name, you have ruined our lives_

 _Do you know what Angelica said  
_ _When she read what you'd done?  
_ _She said  
_ _"You have married an Icarus  
_ _He has flown too close to the sun."_

 _You and your words, obsessed with your legacy...  
_ _Your sentences border on senseless  
_ _And you are paranoid in every paragraph  
_ _How they perceive you  
_ _You, you, you…_

 _I'm erasing myself from the narrative  
_ _Let future historians wonder how Eliza  
_ _Reacted when you broke her heart  
_ _You have torn it all apart  
_ _I am watching it  
_ _Burn_

 _Watching it burn_

But after all of this, I know I feel angry. I should not regret doing what I did. I had every right to be upset, and now I'm angry. I let it take over. I let the fury and raw emotion seep into my every word. I let it show on my face. The biggest change now is that tears are falling down my face. However, they are tears of hurt and hatred. One of the worst kinds. With a feeling akin to exhilaration, but not nearly as pleasant, I dive into the next part of the song.

 _The world has no right to my heart  
_ _The world has no place in our bed  
_ _They don't get to know what I said  
_ _I'm burning the memories  
_ _Burning the letters that might have redeemed you_

 _You forfeit all rights to my heart  
_ _You forfeit the place in our bed  
_ _You sleep in your office instead  
_ _With only the memories  
_ _Of when you were mine  
_ _I hope that you burn_

I let my voice trail off on the last notes as the music fades and the crowd of students before me erupts into a thunderous applause. I take a brief bow before running off of the stage. I aim to walk right past Draco and sit back down in my seat, but as I move past him, standing by the tablet, he grabs my arm and looks me directly in the eye.

* * *

Draco's POV

Hermione's been acting weird for the last week or two. She suddenly stopped talking to me and I don't know why. I've tried to interact with her, but she just refuses. When she does though, she's very reserved and formal. I miss her. Just this morning she fell while trying to get some stuff to the Great Hall for the dance. I tried to help her up and make a small joke but she just glared at me and grudgingly accepted my hand.

Now I'm standing at the side watching her sing Burn from Hamilton and I'm so confused. Her performance is so believable that I don't think she's acting. I start to feel angry now because she's obviously mad at me for something but I don't know what it is. If she was so mad, why didn't she say anything about it? I can't fix something if I don't even know what happened.

When she's done, she runs off the stage. As she goes past me I reach out and grab her arm. Looking her directly in the eye I say, "Hermione, what was that all about? That wasn't just an act-" However I don't get to finish what I'm saying before she cuts me off.

"No, it wasn't just an act. Leave me alone." She spits at me. She then wrenches her arm out of my grasp and runs out of the hall.

I quickly try to catch up, but there are so many people between her and I, that I struggle to do so. I may have been able to stop using crutches over the last few days, but running is still a little difficult even with the braces and I have a weird sort of limp with it. When I finally get past everyone, who had been standing up to get the food which had appeared on the tables, I can't see her in the hall. I run down the hall to try and find her, but it takes me a bit of time. I'm surprised that she managed to get so far away while wearing heels, even if they are only mid-heels; she doesn't exactly wear them very often.

When I'm almost right behind her she stops running. She turns around and the moonlight illuminating the hall reflects off of her face in a beautiful way. Her eyes catch the light in such a way that they sparkle. Her hair seems silvery on one side, while the other is golden from the torches lining the hallway. If the circumstance was different I'd almost want to kiss her. However the circumstances are not different and that is something I definitely cannot do.

"Hermione, what is wrong? You've been ghosting me for the last week or so, and now you've performed a song about cheating with such raw emotion and conviction. Did I do something wrong?" I ask her. Before she can respond though, I try to remember the song I heard earlier this week when I was trying to figure out what was going on. I hurriedly sing the first line and she lets me continue.

 _Why won't you talk to me  
_ _Something's wrong I can see  
_ _Save the lies I won't believe  
_ _You can be honest, you can be honest with me_

I want her to know that whatever happened, I'll listen. I need to know what I did wrong because if it something that has to be corrected, I will do everything in my power to correct it. She's so important to me and she's pushing me away now.

 _So come on and run away with me  
_ _You are the only thing I need  
_ _You are my lungs, my air, the oxygen I breathe  
_ _So come on and run away with me_

 _You're hiding things you'll never show  
_ _You're showing things that you don't know  
_ _More than hope I still believe  
_ _That you are the honest, you are the honest in me_

Hermione is so important to me because she is the main reason I'm a better person today. She believed in me and has helped me every step of the way. She is so truly the honest in me and I don't want to hurt her now after everything.

 _So come on and run away with me  
_ _You are the only thing I need  
_ _You are my lungs, my air, the oxygen I breathe  
_ _So come on and run away with me_

 _When you finally find  
_ _The words to say  
_ _Will I be there  
_ _To lift your weight  
_ _So you don't sink inside yourself again_

When she helped me become who I was, she was also in a darker place though she didn't often show it. Now that I'm better off, I want to help her out and lift her out of wherever she is right now, even if I'm the cause of it.

 _And with these hands  
_ _I will build you up  
_ _To break you down  
_ _To show you love  
_ _So you don't have to be the one to run away_

 _So come on and run away with me  
_ _You are the only thing I need  
_ _You are my lungs, my air, the oxygen I breathe  
_ _So come on and run away with me  
_ _Come on and run away with me  
_ _So come on and run away with me_

I look at her with pleading eyes and I can see that hers hold tears. I'm scared now. I'm scared that I'm going to lose the most important and wonderful person in my life. I'm scared that I'm going to lose my best friend. I'm scared that I've done something unforgivable.

"Hermione, I'm going to ask again. What did I do wrong? How have I hurt you?" I say.

"Draco, do you really not know?" She asks. There is hurt evident in her voice.

"No, and I'm so sorry that I don't. Please tell me. Whatever I did, I didn't mean to do this." I say with a plea in my own voice.

She releases a huge breath and leans against the wall. "'What did I do wrong?' Oh I don't know, I mean you missed two of our planning sessions. You broke the promise we made that day you missed the first meeting. Maybe it seems insignificant and maybe it actually is, but it upset me more than I care to admit. You didn't even tell me until 5 minutes before the meeting, so I couldn't even get a chance to reschedule it."

"Hermione," I interrupt her, "If you had told me it was important to you, I would have found a way to reschedule the meeting. Based on how calm you were when I told you about everything, I thought you were okay with it. I didn't realize you were upset about that. I'm sorry." I say.

"I'm not done." She says coldly as she glares. "Missing the meeting isn't the main reason I'm upset. The main reason I'm upset is that you skipped it to spend time with Hannah and the other girls in our year, you weren't even working on your Charm's assignment. I caught you, both times, in the library just chatting away about nonsense stuff."

Realization dawns on me for two reasons. I now know why I thought I heard someone eavesdropping from behind a bookshelf, but I couldn't find anyone at the time. The second reason is that she must have seen this whole incident as akin to cheating, almost. Though I doubt she'd admit it, or that she'd even realized that herself. I find it somewhat endearing that she cares so much about me that she got jealous so easily. However I also feel a little angry that she's being a bit too possessive and got upset when I was merely talking to another female, our classmate, twice. It's like she was expecting the worst from me, and it hurts my pride a bit.

I try to think of what to say and rationalize that getting mad at her would only escalate the problem further instead of solving it. Which would not do us any favours later on. I need to be the bigger person here and admit that I messed up. In all honesty, I should have at least given her proper warning and explained the full situation. I also should not have skipped the meeting for something so trivial.

"Hermione, I'm sorry about all of this. I should have thought about how this would affect you. Just please remember that I love you, and always will. You mean so much to me; you got me here today and had faith in me when no one, not even myself, had faith in me. You made my life worth living, so I ask for your forgiveness now." As I say this, I take her hands in mine, clasping them and lifting them to be level with her shoulders.

She suddenly starts crying and buries her face in my shoulder. I hear her whisper "I'm sorry" multiple times amidst her sobs and she hugs me. I'm a little surprised at first, but I wrap my arms around her to return the gesture.

"Draco, I'm sorry I overreacted again. I think the stress of having Ron back here now, schoolwork, and planning the ball has been getting to be too much for me. Can I ask that the two of us take a bit of a break for the next while? It's not that I don't like you or anything, I love you so much, I just don't want to hurt you more than I already have."

I'm shocked by her request and I'd be lying if I said I wasn't hurt even a little bit by this. However I do want to respect her wishes so I respond with, "It's alright. Whatever you're comfortable with. I'll be here when you want me, and I won't stop waiting for you, even if it's till I die."

She smiles at me in gratitude and then speaks up. "You don't have to be so dramatic. That was cute, but it was also very sappy. Ginny would have loved to hear that, if she found out you'd never hear the end of it. We should probably get back now… wait how long have we been here for? Oh shoot! I didn't think of that when we left! We have to get back now, make sure that the hall isn't in cha-"

"Calm down." I say, cutting her off. Her worrying is quite cute but unnecessary. She overthinks a lot of stuff and stresses so much about everything. "I had a feeling some sort of incident would happen between us tonight, so I asked Blaise yesterday if he could keep an eye out during the ball and take over if he noticed that we'd both disappeared. I'm sure it'll be just fine, but we should head back before it gets any later."

"Oh okay. Thanks." She says.

We then walk back towards the hall and find the place to be just like it was when we left, crowded and noisy. I see Ginny on stage with Luna and they're performing a version of My Favourite Things from the Sound of Music and they seem to be having a lot of fun. Ginny looks very pumped and into it, while Luna seems to be dancing a little bit to it in her dress.

I turn to see Hermione staring at them with a huge smile on her face. When they finish singing, they come down and join us after Hermione waves them over.

"Sorry about that guys, I just had to sort out something with Draco." She says.

"Oh that's alright, though I hope you got to see most of our performance just now. There's a surprising amount of the school who know a lot of these songs. I was worried they wouldn't be popular or anything. It's been great. You should have seen Neville earlier though, he and Blaise partnered to sing I Don't Dance from High School Musical 2 and it was hilarious." Says Ginny.

"I'm sure it was." Replies Hermione with a grin. At first I don't think I know what they're talking about, and then I remember that Hermione showed me those films back during Christmas break. That was a scene that didn't make sense to me at first, but then Hermione explained to me that the whole thing was supposed to be ironic.

I turn to face all three of them and then ask if they would like me to get them a glass of punch while they head back to our table.

"Thank you very much Draco, you're quite the gentleman. Perhaps even more than Neville, just don't tell him I said that." Says Luna with a teasing smile.

"Yes thank you Draco. Hermione is quite lucky to have you." Adds Ginny.

Hermione and I both visibly tense when she says this, but I don't think either of them notice.

I walk over to the buffet tables and get four glasses to fill them with punch. I use my wand to do all of them at the same time and then levitate them towards the table. Halfway there I'm pushed a little from behind. I spin around to see Ron standing behind me.

"Ferret." He says calmly.

"Weasel." I reply while gently levitating the glasses onto our table which is just a couple meters away.

"What are you doing, trying to be all chummy with Hermione, my sister, and all of my old friends?" He asks me.

"Oh, I'm sorry, I didn't realize that Blaise was one of your friends. But by all means, go ahead and try to talk to them. I'm not so sure they'd want a terrorist sitting at their table, but I guess they let me sit with them so you may have some hope." I reply. Weasel and I have been getting quite good at our verbal battles and I found them kind of amusing. I sort of miss arguing and fighting with Hermione like in our earlier years. Now we're almost too civil or we blow up and it doesn't quite feel right.

"You want to fight ferret? How about right here?" He says to me.

"You mean right now? Well I guess you put the offer out."

"I'm not gonna chase you down Malfoy."

"Well I kn-"

I'm cut off by Hermione who quickly jumps in front of me, pushing us apart, while frantically asking us to stop. "Wait! Don't fight. You're only going to ruin the reputations that you've both re-built!"

At the same time, I can see Pansy quickly grabbing Ron and trying to snatch his wand. I hear her say something along the lines of, "Don't be stupid!" and "Are you trying to go back to Azkaban?!"

Ron and I both burst out laughing at the same time. Hermione and Pansy look equally perplexed, while the rest of our friends just look very, very confused.

"Draco, why on earth are you laughing? You too Ron. This isn't remotely funny. You two having a duel, or even a fist fight here could ruin all of the inter-house unity we've fought for this yea-." Ron cuts Hermione off and responds.

"Hermione calm down. Draco and I weren't actually going to fight each other. We're on mostly civil terms now, since we've been partners for quite a few assignments and have had some time to talk. We were actually referencing The Greatest Showman just now since Draco introduced the soundtrack to me."

Pansy, Hermione, Ginny, Blaise, and Neville all look gobsmacked when he's finished. Luna just looks slightly bemused and has the kind of look on her face that implies she's known about this for a while. I have to resist the urge to start laughing again, but I can feel a smirk growing on my face. However it fades just a little bit to be replaced by a bit of fear when Hermione spins towards me with a fairly angry expression.

"You ferret! This whole time you haven't been trying to kill each other and you didn't think to mention this to me?! I've been stressing so much about both of you and how much trouble you could create when you guys are partnered!" She rants.

"Yes well, I never really found a chance to tell you recently since you've been ignoring me for the about a week and a half. Also… wait a second. Pansy, why did you come to stop Weasley from attacking me?" I just processed that fact and I can see everyone else in our group thinking the same thing now. Both Ron and Pansy turn a bit red, but Pansy tries to explain.

"Well… just like Draco and Ron hit it off pretty well after being forced to work together, Ron and I have become pretty friendly as well since we're Muggle Studies partners. I can see how Draco and Hermione started to get along now." She says. Ginny looks at Hermione, Pansy, Ron, and I with a very peculiar expression before bursting into laughter.

"You guys are ridiculous. At this rate, inter-house rivalry will be completely eradicated by the end of this year and all of the Slytherins will be paired with Gryffindors." She pauses for a moment before adding, "Not to say I don't want it to happen, it's just that I didn't really think it could. Now, how about we all sit down like normal people?"

We all nod in agreement and sit down after pulling up two extra chairs for Pansy and Weasley. I find it amusing that Hermione, Weasley, Pansy, and I have pretty much switched partners with each other. Now that I know the two of them are friends, or at least somewhat, I can see the affection that the two of them are displaying. I guess it's probably the same for the others when they're looking at the interactions between Weasley and me.

We chat for quite a while about Pansy and Weasley, Weasley and me, and finally everyone's favourite topic, Hermione and me. We both try to steer the conversation away from it, but they still manage to ask a couple of questions that Hermione answered with as calmly and politely as possible, although she was obviously flustered. I'm just glad she answered them, if I had tried to answer I would have messed something up.

When it seems most people have had a chance on the karaoke machine, I go up and set up a playlist of some instrumental dance music. There are some funky ones, but there are also some nice slow dance ones as well. I spent some time working on that playlist, making sure that it all flowed nicely but still offered variety for people's different music tastes. I also include some more popular wizarding lullaby tunes. When I get back to the table, I see most of our friends have gotten up and are dancing along with most of the students in the hall. Luna and Neville, and Ron and Pansy are partnered up. Ginny gets invited up by Blaise and she accepts. I'm glad he was kind enough to offer her a dance seeing as how her boyfriend wasn't able to come to a students dance. The only person left now is Hermione and I refuse to let her just sit off to the side after all of the work she's put into this dance.

I walk over to her and offer my hand to her. She looks a little surprised at first, but gracefully accepts my hand. A smile graces her features as I gently place a hand on her hip while holding the other one to the side. We start to slow dance to the music which just so happens to be a favourite lullaby of mine. Though the lullabys do not have lyrics, many wizarding families make up their own. I begin to softly sing the ones my mother made up for this one in Hermione's ear.

 _Listen to the wind as it howls by  
_ _Listen to the sea as it swells  
_ _Listen to the sounds of nature cry  
_ _Listen near the old citadel_

 _Listen to the crackling of a dying flame  
_ _Listen to the dripping of the dew  
_ _Listen to the leaves as dirt they claim  
_ _Listen as the forest's day is new_

 _Listen to the birds chirping eloquently  
_ _Listen to the bubbling brook  
_ _Listen to the sounds though you cannot see  
_ _Listen through the old story book_

I know there are more verses to it, but those were the three she used to sing to me most often. The song goes on for what seems like an eternity, but not in a bad way. I don't want this moment to end. I don't want to leave and start living a step further away from my love. Now I have her here and I can gaze into her brown eyes like I did the first day I realized I loved her. I feel the urge to kiss her, the situation is perfect and I'm sure she wouldn't mind. However I can't let myself do it. I can't do it because she said she wanted to take a break from being partners. I don't want to break her trust. For now we are just friends, best friends mind you, but still friends and I will treat her like a friend should.

When the song ends, we head back to our table and sit down. Just as we get comfortable, I hear her stomach growl and I realize that we never actually got any food between all of the drama of tonight. I realize I'm quite hungry as well, so I volunteer to go get us some of the food from the buffet tables. When I get there, Blaise comes up to me.

"Draco buddy, how's life treating you?" He asks me.

"Well enough." I reply.

"Are you sure mate? I mean you look kind of sad right now and I mean Hermione kind of introduced the night with a song about cheating so…"

"I mean, the two of us are okay and we made up, but we're not quite as good as we used to be." I say. It's kind of cryptic but I'm sure he can guess where we are right now.

"Oh man, that's got to hurt a bit, no? I feel you. Just don't give up on her, okay? She's great and you are very lucky that she took interest in you at all." He says to me. "And if for some reason you end up hurting her for no reason, I'm gonna apparate to wherever you are and slap some sense into you."

"You realize that you sound like a protective older brother, right?" I say to him. "You're reminding me of this one time that Potter had a talk with me about treating her right and how he'd probably kill me if I hurt her."

He smirks at me with an expression that could rival my own. "Well considering how much time I've spent with her over the past half-year, I might as well be her older brother. I didn't even realize I was doing that though. I guess that explains why Weasel and Potter used to be so protective of her." He says.

"Yeah, I guess so, she's a wonderful person and she seems to have that effect on a lot of people. Well anyway, how about you help me get some food for Hermione and I? We haven't had a chance to eat yet this evening." I say.

"Wait you guys haven't eaten yet? Why are you letting me chat with you right now? We need to get this food over pronto before she gives up waiting for it and tries to, politely, raid the kitchens!" He says and immediately helps me get some food onto a plate for her.

"Only you raid the kitchens when there's no food. The rest of us merely go to the kitchens and ask the house elves for food."

"That's fair. But anyway, hurry up!" He says as he speeds off with Hermione's plate of food in front of him as he weaves his way through the crowd and towards our table. I catch up and arrive at the table just about 10 seconds after he got there. Hermione immediately started eating once Blaise left and she's somehow managed to eat a quarter of the food on the plate in that time.

"Hey." I say once I've sat down.

"Hi." She replies once she's finished chewing her food. We eat in silence fairly quickly and when I check the time, I see that it's about 5 minutes before the ball is supposed to finish.

"Hermione, the ball is supposed to end in about 5 minutes. Do you want to come with me to address the students?" I ask her.

"Sure." She replies.

We both get up and walk up to the stage I set up this afternoon. I step up and stand in front of the microphone.

"Hello, students!" I say. Hermione is standing just next to me and looks a little nervous in front of everyone. "The ball will be ending in just a couple of minutes. I just want to say thank you to the prefects team for helping us set this ball up, we couldn't have done it without you guys. Thank you as well to Headmistress McGonagall who approved this ball and let us make this happen. Thank you to Ginny Weasley who asked Hermione and I about another ball, pestered us the most about this, and gave us the idea for the theme. None of this would have even begun to be an idea if not for her. Lastly, I just want to say thank you for coming out here tonight. Tomorrow is a Sunday so you can all sleep in tomorrow."

I then let Hermione say the final words for the night. "Have a good night everybody, or at least what's left of it." We then step back and walk off, Hermione following just behind me.

"Well at least that's all over and done with." I say to her.

"Yes. Finally another thing to check off of my To Do list." She replies.

"We have to clear all of this up once everyone has left, right?" I ask her in a way that suggests she really doesn't want to.

"That's right, though I also wish we didn't have to." She says with a tired and sympathetic smile.

"Can we just levitate everything back to our common room and sort it out in the morning?" I ask.

"That's a good idea. Saves us a lot more time and lets us sleep longer."

"Well, we might as well chill for a little bit longer while everyone gets ready to leave." I say.

She nods and we just sit down watching the student body of Hogwarts mill around everywhere with most people talking to each other, instead of being overly cliquey. Even with just levitating things and taking that back to the common room, we don't get back to our room to sleep till about 1:30 in the morning.

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Author's Note: Sorry about the late update, I've had to deal with some issues at home and it's taking up a lot of time. However, it does mean that I got some more ideas for the chapter and could make this a much longer one than usual. The fighting was also written better than it would have been since some of my friends have been having a bit of a spat and I've heard many of their arguments. The two songs used were Burn from Hamilton: An American Musical and Runaway by We The Kings. The colour codes for the colour scheme of the ball following the same order is: #2DB75B, #F4C63D, #3BC8EF, #FF3FFB, and #FF3F75. Thanks for the feedback and support, but please review! it's really nice hearing from you guys and hearing what you guys think of it and how you think it could be improved a bit. Have a great week, till next time!


	47. Storms, Stairs, & Struggles

Disclaimer: I do not own the Harry Potter franchise, nor anything affiliated with it

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Draco's POV

I sit on a large rock staring out upon the water, the soft breeze blowing through my hair. It's not too chilly even though it's mid-March. The air has the kind of warmth to it that you usually experience before a large thunderstorm and the dark storm clouds in the distance probably mean ones coming. The clouds have a really nice hue to them though, they're a kind of purple and orange mix due to the setting sun. I turn back stare at my reflection in the lake and it stares back at me.

Hermione and I are doing okay at the moment, but I feel kind of weird now that we aren't really dating. There wasn't really that much of a difference in how we treated each other once we were dating, but it felt less constricting when we were. Now I don't know if how I act or how I treat her is overstepping it a little bit and I don't want to alienate her either. The stress of that was getting a bit much so I decided to take a walk instead of hanging around with our friends this evening.

Classes were okay today; Ron and I managed to get a pretty good mark on one of our joint projects, just a handful of marks behind Hermione and Pansy. I smirk to myself as I remember the drama that happened when we found out that a) Ron and I were fairly civilized with each other and got along pretty well considering our history and b) Ron and Pansy were somewhat of an item.

I know Hermione is finding it quite weird and probably thinks there is something wrong with her old best friend. Sometimes she pesters me about what he and I do when we're not doing school work but just hanging around. We don't actually DO much, we mostly just talk about our past and try to explain our perspectives on how we treated each other. A couple of times though, Ron asked about how Pansy used to be and little things like her likes and dislikes. Nothing too much, though sometimes I couldn't answer some of them, but I'm still shocked I didn't see the whole thing coming in the first place.

The storm's getting closer now and the wind has picked up. You can see it whip across the now grey water, creating ripples and tiny little waves. It's like a miniature ocean and it seems to be foreboding. I didn't expect it to come this quickly, but I don't quite feel like leaving yet. I can feel my hair getting messed up a bit, but I don't really care about it. A couple of years ago maybe, but back then I was an arrogant git whose main goal was to look like perfection. I still care a bit, but not as much, and it's much more natural now than it was back then.

I can see the water, not too far out, starting to ripple and become distorted, almost fuzzy. I sigh realizing that it means that the rain has started to fall and will reach me soon. I transfigure my relatively light cloak into a heavier travelling cloak and cast a spell to prevent it from getting wet. I then stand up and head back to the castle so I'm not stuck out here for too long in the rain. Though I admire nature, Hermione is the one who loves the rain enough to get drenched, not me.

I'm about a minute to two from the main doors when the rain reaches me, starting with just a drizzle thankfully. I pull the hood of the cloak around me head to cover it for the little stretch I still have to walk. When I finally arrive at the doors and get inside, I transfigure my cloak back into the lighter version in case I forget later on and think I've misplaced it instead. It also makes it lighter and much easier to climb the stairs up to our dorm room.

When I get up, I see that Hermione isn't on the couch, but it isn't to unreasonable for her to have gone to bed early. Then I realize that she's probably on patrol tonight. I climb up yet another flight of stairs, though thankfully this set does not move, and enter my room. For the second time this week however, I grasped the handle a little too tightly and managed to cut my hand once again on the emerald coloured vines woven into it. I sigh before cast a quick healing spell on the bleeding area before sitting down to do a little bit of homework.

I start one of my charms essays and I'm about a quarter of the way through it when I realize that I can't really concentrate anymore. Before putting my quill back and leaning back in my chair, I carefully roll up the sheet of parchment and place it in my desk drawer. The sound of the rain hitting my window is quite loud and I cast a muffliato on it so that it doesn't bother me anymore. I get up and stretch a little bit, thankful that I can actually do that a little easier now without needing crutches. I don't really feel like doing anything tonight so I go get dressed into my pyjamas and crawl into my bed to sleep. Unfortunately it doesn't come as easily as it does nowadays. I easily spend two hours just tossing and turning before finally falling asleep around midnight.

I'm not even sure if I actually fell asleep, I felt like I was swimming in and out of consciousness and I wasn't really aware of my surroundings at all. One moment it would feel like I was drowning, the next like I was falling, then I'd be still and calm, the next I'm in the middle of the woods and running for my life. I couldn't tell what was reality and what was a dream. Eventually around 3 am, a clap of thunder woke me up and I bolted upright. I can see the lighting striking from outside, casting streaks of light in the shadows of my room. I guess I forgot to close the curtains before going to bed.

I try to lie back down, but I just feel really uncomfortable when I do. I feel really restless and I fight the urge to scream in frustration. I keep tossing and turning which makes feel really warm so I force myself to get up. It's obvious I'm not likely to get much sleep by just staying in bed. I might as well try to tire myself out for a bit. I get out from under my now completely messed up covers and use a quick charm to straighten them out. I then grab my cloak from earlier and transfigure it once more to be a heavier travelling cloak.

I walk down to the portrait and put on a pair of shoes. I exit into the hallway and feel so awkward. As Head Boy I won't get in trouble for being in the hallway past curfew, but I don't want to get in trouble with Filch either way. I'm trying to figure out where to go before I'm exposed by Ms. Norris when I'm suddenly filled with an urge to go to the Astronomy tower. I'm not quite sure why, but I hope there's a good reason behind the gut feeling I'm getting.

I set of towards the tower and pull the hood over my head so I'm not as recognizable from my very pale, blonde, hair. Most of the hallways leading to the tower don't have windows and they can be quite chilly as well as a bit chilly, however there are spells that prevent precipitation from coming through so thankfully I don't get wet. I finally reach the base of the tower and climb up the stairs till the top. When I reach the top I immediately see why I felt the need to come up here and I'm so glad I chose to follow my gut instinct.

Near the edge of the tower, knees tucked up to her chest and leaning against a pillar, is Hermione. She appears to be sleeping, but seems to be very still. I rush over and quickly see if she's all right. Her skin is ice cold and I panic for a moment before realizing that I can see her chest rising and falling. Good, it means that she's breathing. I'm mad at myself for not checking to see if she was in her room when I didn't see her earlier. I'm also confused as to why she'd come up here and just fall asleep. She probably didn't choose to though, she was probably just really tired.

I try to figure out what to do next. The charms around most of Hogwarts prevented her from getting wet from the thunderstorm, but she is quite cold. I cast a small warming charm on her so that she doesn't get too cold and I notice her stir a little bit in her sleep. I don't think it will be necessary to take her to the Hospital Wing and I'd be quite reluctant to go back there anyway. I decide to carry her since I'm scared I may drop her if I levitate her and we're caught by Filch.

I bend down and gather her in my arms before standing up on very shaky legs. I lean backwards against the wall and take a deep breath to try and steady myself. This may prove to be more difficult than I thought.

I had completely forgotten about my legs being kind of useless. I groan and grit my teeth as I push off of the safety of the wall. I walk as steadily, but as quickly as possible to the other side of the tower. I all but stumble into the other wall and try not to let myself collapse like I've done in the past. The pain isn't too bad, what's worse is the uncertainty of whether or not I'm going to fall and drop Hermione. She's so peaceful now and I don't want to wake her up, but I can't leave her here.

Now for the harder part, getting down the stairs of the tower. The steps aren't exactly the largest and I can't see as well while I'm carrying Hermione. Not to mention my arms are starting to burn a little now. I use a bit of wandless magic, which is extremely difficult but also very helpful in battle, to summon my wand into my hand. Once I've gripped it properly, I cast a lumos so that I can see a bit of what's ahead of me. I then lean against the wall for support and shift down the stairs, trying to keep my balance and see what's ahead.

By the time I get to the bottom, my arms feel like lead and I'm breathing rather heavily. It's a little embarrassing since it wasn't that far, but right now I really don't care. Hermione is somewhat heavier than she looks and even if she wasn't, carrying a person is tiring and not exactly effortless.

I wearily transfigure a nearby torch lamp into a chair so I can rest for a bit without putting Hermione down. I sit and rest for a couple of minutes before transfiguring the chair back into a torch lamp. I then head back to our dorm, repeating the transfiguring process a couple of times on the way. It takes me awhile and I must have spent almost an hour outside of our room doing all of this.

I'm just very grateful that I wasn't caught by Filch at any point. Hermione stirs a little bit every now and then, but she never properly wakes up and I'm glad she didn't; it would have been very awkward if she did. The rational side of me is saying I should just relent and use magic to levitate her, but there is another side to me that is being stubborn and telling me to finish what I started. I guess that would be Hermione's Gryffindor influence.

When I finally reach the portrait to our dorm I'm overcome with a sense of relief. Then I realize that we finally switched the password yesterday and in my tired state I cannot remember it. Drat. I try to think about why we chose it, because I know there was a good reason. I can't even remember the conversation surrounding it now. It's on the tip of my tongue, but it just isn't quite there. If only I had a Pensieve right now.

When I look down at Hermione again I remember why we chose it, and from there, the actual password. It was 'fuzz ball'. The way to remember it was by looking at our clothes. The ferrets we got from George are great, but they do shed fur around the whole place and it's been getting on our clothes.

I say the password and it opens for me, or rather, us. I climb in rather shakily and struggle to get up the stairs to her room. I use her hand to open her room since I can't do it myself due to the privacy wards on the rooms. I lean on the door to open it fully and carefully place Hermione, still fully clothed, on the bed. I pull the sheets out from under her and pull them up till they reach her shoulders.

I suddenly feel really sleepy and I head back towards my room. I barely reach my bed before collapsing on it, still wearing my heavy travelling cloak. This time I dream of snow and fairies all the way till morning.

* * *

Author's Note: Next chapter should be up by Wednesday, maybe Thursday, I just left the draft in school but I've typed out a decent portion of it. I'm going to start a playlist exclusively for the songs in this fic called "AS,SE,TMM playlist" under the username of Pokey_314 like before. I know the last chapter was technically two point of view sections and could have been split into two, but I wanted to put it up as one so that it would make more sense and details would still be fresh in your head. I realized that in the previous chapter I had Draco running without any mention whatsoever of his crutches, so I made a little edit there recently. Basically, he stopped using crutches a couple days before the dance, but he still has trouble running and has a weird limp with it. I've been keeping an eye on my review count and was wondering if we could possibly make it to 20 reviews by the time I post chapter 48? Pretty please? I love hearing from you and feedback is always welcome! Thanks for the support and I hope you all have a great week, till next time!


	48. Fog, Meeting Up, & Dishes

Disclaimer: I do not own the Harry Potter franchise, nor anything affiliated with it.

* * *

When I woke up, all I could see as I looked outside my window was a thick fog covering the landscape. It looked so beautiful, especially since you could see the peaks of the green-robed mountains of the Scottish highlands amongst the miniscule beads of water. I check the time and see that it's just after 7 am. I head to the adjoining bathroom that I share with Draco and freeze.

It took me awhile to realize it, I guess it was the mind-muddling effects of sleep, but I shouldn't be here. I shouldn't be in my room, I shouldn't have woken up in my bed covered in blankets. I should have woken up with a crick in my neck, at the top of the Astronomy tower, overlooking the lake. This means one of two things; either I managed to sleep walk all the way back to my bed, or someone found me and brought me back. Based on the fact that I was gently tucked into bed and the password had been changed just two days ago so only Draco and I knew it, I'd be willing to bet 20 galleons that Draco brought me back in the middle of the night.

I groan into my hands in the middle of my room. "Why does he have to be so sweet, and caring, and wonderful?" I mutter to myself. I keep trying to push him away so I don't hurt him, and in the meantime he keeps coming back to save me and look out for me.

I push all my confusing and emotional thoughts and feelings to the side of my mind for now, resolving to focus on getting ready for class first so I don't end up late. I walk back to my trunk to grab a clean uniform before going to the bathroom to get changed and ready for breakfast.

Splashing water onto my face, I try to wake myself up and be more alert. I put on my uniform and decide to wear my thinner more flowing robes today, not that different from my usual robes but they feel much lighter and I feel like I can breathe more easily in them. I try to pull my hair into a bun so it stays out of my face for Defense Against the Dark Arts, but it refuses to stay put today. I give up and put it in a half-up/half-down hairstyle. Once I've done a once over of my appearance, I gather my belongings and take them back to the trunk in my room.

After putting everything back, I walk out of my room, then my dorm, and head to the Great Hall

* * *

"Do I have to do it with Granger?" Whines Pansy as Professor Morningfold explains that everyone else has a partner and maybe next time she should decide faster. I just ignore her and continue taking notes on the details of the assignment, making sure to jot down the various ideas I have floating around in my head. Funnily enough, I don't find her as annoying or grating as I used to, but that doesn't necessarily mean she's better, I could just be building up immunity to her. Maybe it also has to do with the fact that I know she isn't as annoying when we're working together. Perhaps Ron isn't completely crazy.

It's strange to think that Ron is actually here, back at Hogwarts now. It's even stranger to think that Ron and Pansy are now best friends. I'm not quite sure if they're actually dating or anything, but even just being friends is so weird. I mean, this is the same Ron who actually assaulted Draco for dating me. I guess this how he and everyone else felt when I started hanging out and later dating Draco, though that last part has stopped now, thanks to me.

We have to do a research project worth 10% of our final grade and the Professor wanted us to work with people outside of our house. I may be completely supportive of house unity, but the teachers this semester are taking it a little far in my opinion. This is the 12th project I've been her partner in and it's actually quite annoying. It's gotten to the point where I can recite her entire schedule from memory even though she's never once showed it to me. I just take in information when she mentions it and I've guessed the rest. So far I haven't been wrong.

I begin to map out a study/research/project guide based on the due date, her free periods, allowing time for the rest of our schoolwork, and giving extra time for the rest of her life. Once I've sorted that out, I create a duplicate of the chart using a spell I learnt from an older Ravenclaw student back in third year when I was doing more advanced courses.

When Pansy finally stops ranting enough to realize that I'm already doing stuff, she leans over my shoulder to see exactly what I've done so far.

"How do you know my schedule?" She asks when she sees what I'm duplicating. I resist the urge to smirk and instead look the other way. "Even I have trouble remembering it." She says when I don't respond. She then reaches down and takes one of the copies. After examining it she tells me that she can't make one of the sessions next week because she has a meeting with someone.

"Okay, is there another time we could meet up instead?" I ask her.

"Um, not really. Actually maybe just after our afternoon class. We can just grab some plates of food from the kitchens on our way to the library. Although, I'm reluctant to actually have to talk with the house elves. They don't really like me." I resist the urge to reply with a snarky comment, but if I had it would have been along the lines of either, 'well neither does anyone else' or 'I wouldn't either if I'd been subjected to torture from your families'. However I'm sure that those kind of comments wouldn't help at all and I'd like to get out of this project unscathed. If I'd said that I'm sure Pansy would have loved nothing more than to hex or curse me.

"Yeah that's fine. May I ask whom you're meeting?" I ask politely.

She turns away and mumbles her response so I can't hear what she's saying. I have a guess as to who she's meeting but I'd like to know for sure.

"Sorry I couldn't hear you."

"Weasel." She says in a very quiet voice. I want to tell her that she's crazy and that they'll never work. That they're both very prejudiced and that their families are so different but then I stop. I remember how it was when Draco and I started dating. People kept telling us that we were crazy. Everyone thought it was a joke and it didn't feel very nice. Instead I decide to be a little nicer.

"That's fine. So how are you and Ron doing?" I ask her. I'm actually quite curious to know exactly what's going on between them.

"I mean we're doing okay. He can be a little thick and hot-headed sometimes but not any more than me so... and he puts up with me and my antics so it feels nice. He isn't as bad as I used to think he was. I guess you aren't either now that I've spent more time with both of you. Though I do think that your fashion sense is a disaster." I'm surprised to hear her compliment me. I didn't expect that at all. I did however expect the insult.

We go the rest of the period just figuring out what we should research and how we'll split up the work for our study sessions and reading later on. I leave a little distracted, still surprised that Pansy was actually kind of nice to me for once and that I was nice to her.

* * *

I enter into Draco's and my dorm room and kick my shoes off, leaving them by the little coat hooks at the entrance. My bag is heavy with all of the notes and books I picked up at the library for my Ancient Studies assignment and I put it down on the floor next to 'my' couch. I go over to the kitchenette to make myself a cup of tea so that I can try and relax my buzzing brain. I look in the sink and see that Draco left his cup in the sink along with another plate without washing them out or even soaking them. Instead they're just sitting there becoming harder and harder to clean. I resist the urge to scream in frustration but I still hit my head against the counter so I can vent some of the annoyance I feel.

I hear footsteps behind me and I turn around to see Draco just getting to the bottom of the stairs staring at me with a slightly worried and confused expression. I just glare at him and turn on the sink as forcefully as possible. I pull out a sponge and I scrub the dishes in the sink. I angrily clean them before drying them and putting them back into the cupboard, almost breaking the mug.

"Hermione what on Earth are you doing? Did you knock a few screws loose when you banged your head against the table just now? I'd rather not have to go McGonagall and explain that you broke the dishes in our dorm because you smashed them in a fit of rage."

I stare at him incredulously and I'm almost certain that my eye is twitching a bit. "You left your dishes in the sink and you didn't even soak them." I say in a scarily calm voice.

"So that means you can throw a fit and smash dishes. Okay. Hermione you're being ridiculous. These things you keep getting annoyed at, the dishes today, the way the cushions on the couch were arranged two days ago, the fact that your essay the other day had a tiny rip in the corner so you rewrote the entire thing? You're driving me insane! And then you get mad at me for every tiny little thing. It's not even like I've done anything particularly wrong, it's just little things! It bothers me even more because I keep having to take care of you like yesterday when you fell asleep on the tower. I can understand if you don't want a relationship, but that doesn't give you an excuse to go crazy!"

Draco doesn't usually get frustrated with me for anything so I'm a little shocked at first. Then I realize the logic of what he's saying, and the lack thereof in my actions. "I'm sorry Draco, I didn't realize that I was being such an annoyance. I'll try to be less nit-picky." I say.

"No, it's alright Hermione. Just try to not be as easily angered. I know you're not having a great time at the moment, but you have to be careful to not take it out on the people around you."

"Okay, sorry again." I say. We just kind of stop talking and fall into an uncomfortable silence instead. It feels suffocating and I leave the kitchenette without making my tea in the end. I pick up my books and bag from beside the couch and take them up to my room. When I get up, I see Nat asleep on my bed and I go over to sit next to her and give her a rub. I haven't has much time recently to spend with her so I just relax and try to calm the busy thoughts in my head. Soon I can no longer keep my eyes open any longer and I fall asleep on the bed still wearing my uniform once again, just like last night. The difference being that I'm now warm and comfortable.

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Author's Note: Thanks all of you for getting me to 19 reviews, special thanks to LunarCry, you've posted a total of 4 reviews, 20% of them. Can we try for 20? It's only one more review and 20 is a nice friendly number, so is 25 in case you were wondering. Please review, I love hearing from you guys! Have a good Easter weekend if you celebrate it and enjoy your weekend folks. Thanks for the support, have a great week, till next time.


	49. Old Antics, the Then, & the Now

Disclaimer: I do not own the Harry Potter franchise, nor anything affiliated with it. I also do not own any songs used in this fic, all rights to those songs belong to the artists, go support their work on Youtube, Spotify, or other music platforms.

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Draco's POV

"You're kidding right? Hermione was the one who set Snape's robe on fire back in first year? Ms. Perfect Role Model? The Insufferable Tattle Tale?"

I can't stop laughing and Ron can't either. We're sitting in the Gryffindor common room and surprisingly I'm pretty comfortable in here. No one really bats an eye at the sight and there are actually a couple other students here from other houses. Since house relationships have been getting much better and the war showed people to cherish what they have, common rooms have become less exclusive.

"Oh my goodness, he got so upset about that! I'm not sure if you knew this, but Snape is my Godfather. That was his favourite set of robes. He was so moody, well more than usual at least, during the following days. He actually let McGonagall give me a detention instead of excusing me like usual. You know what, when I say it out loud it doesn't seem as bad. You guys must have served at least 80 in your time right?"

"I've lost track, but Hermione probably has it recorded in a secret journal with lots of tears smudging the pages and ink. I mean it's probably something she'd cry about. 'Dear Diary, today I got a detention. It's absolutely abhorable!'" I collapse into another fit of laughter at his imitation of Hermione's voice. "As she once said back in our third year I think, 'I have a reputation to uphold'. It was ridiculous."

It really does sound like something she would do, or at least she definitely would have done before the war. Now, maybe not.

"Do you have any more embarrassing stories about Hermione? Or anything you'd like to tell me now that we're somewhat friends?" I ask.

"Nah, I don't think so… wait, oh my gosh you don't know!" He looks like he's about to die from laughter now, but if he doesn't tell me what I don't know I'll probably die from curiosity, I mean it did kill the cat.

"What don't I know Weasel?" I ask in a semi-annoyed and exasperated voice. He just laughs harder and I fight the urge to smile at him. I give him a moment to calm down before glaring at him again.

"Fine I'll tell you, but the look on your face is priceless. I'd love to take a snapshot of it." I just continue to glare at him, waiting for him to move on. "Okay so back in Second Year, we all had this theory that you were the heir of Slytherin. You know, since you flaunted it so much. Well anyway Hermione hatched a plan to make a Polyjuice potion because she'd read ahead and already learnt it in theory. That way we could get information from you without arousing suspicion."

I'm a little puzzled by this discovery since I know that the potion requires many ingredients that are not readily available to the general student population, never mind a group of three second year students who were always causing trouble. Snape certainly wouldn't have given the ingredients to them. As if reading my thoughts, Ron continues.

"Harry and I didn't know where we might have gotten those ingredients from, but Hermione suggested we break into Snape's potion and ingredient stores to 'acquire' them." He pauses. "I know right, Hermione recommend we break into the stores of one of the most feared professors in history? What on earth has gotten into the golden girl?"

"Anyway we then stole them, I'm not telling you how since that's Harry's secret to tell." This just makes me immensely curious so I discreetly pull out a pen from my bag so that I can write a note on my hand to ask Potter about this later.

"Once we had them, we decided to brew it in one of the stalls in Moaning Myrtle's bathroom since no one wanted to go there. Hermione figured it would be pretty safe. Once the potion was ready, we got hairs from Crabbe, Goyle, and Bulstrode and put them in the potion. This was after we lured Crabbe and Goyle using cupcakes and tucked them out of the way in an empty closet. We put the hairs in and drank them in separate stalls. It was so weird, all of it. Anyway, Harry and I exited our stalls and we though it worked pretty well. Hermione took a while though. When we finally got her to come out, she slowly opened it and she was like this weird human-cat hybrid."

Weasel stops for a moment to let that sink in and I try to imagine that. It doesn't quite work since I don't have any idea what that would look like.

"You're confused aren't you?" No duh Weaselbee, I think to myself. "Okay well she had the same kind of size as she did back then, but she was covered in fur and her head was shaped like a cat's. It was hilarious. It turns out she had accidentally taken a piece of fur from Bulstrode, not a hair. She had to go to the hospital wing for that one and didn't come back till after the winter holidays, so for about a week or two."

Now that I have a frame of reference, the image I'm getting in my head is absolutely ridiculous and I burst out laughing. I can't stop and I make a very important mental note to tease Hermione about this later. I can't help but wonder how I've gotten to the point where I'm best friends with Hermione, okay maybe not anymore, goofing off and laughing with Weasel, and good terms with Potter.

"Weaselbee, though I hate to break up the laughs and amazing stories, I have to head up to the library to do some research for my Alchemy class. See you at dinner." I say. I grab my bag and sling it around my shoulder.

"Bye, see you later ferret!" He says before I turn around leave. Though we're pretty chummy now, we still call each other names because it'd be weird if we didn't. It's still weird to think that we went polar opposites with each in just about a month or two, calling each other by our given names would just be too much.

I exit through the Gryffindor portrait hole and head to the library. I almost get lost at one point since I'm quite new to walking this way. The sun has started to set so it's casting a beautiful orange glow on the hallway. Unfortunately it also means that the sun is blinding my eyes and I'm squinting like a mad person. Not the best when you're supposed to be one of the schools most proper students as well as a Malfoy.

When I finally get to the library I sit at a table next to a window, angled such that the remaining sun light can illuminate my papers and textbooks, but it won't get in my eyes. I don't really want to do my Alchemy homework, it's not like I'll need it for the jobs I'm thinking of. The only reason I'm bothered to do it at all is because I'd like to be able to get either the same kind of grades as Hermione or better. This would mean I have a high chance of being valedictorian, as well as the fact that my father may actually be proud of my achievements for once.

I'm not quite sure what to think about my father now. I have so many conflicting thoughts and opinions now so I mostly choose to not think of it at all. However when you don't want to do your work, those kinds of thoughts jump out at you so you can escape and wait till later. The easiest way to deal with this problem is to try and get all the conflicting arguments about my father organized in my mind.

First of all, when I was younger he was an abhorable father who never gave me any attention, love, praise, or joy. His only goal was to make me the best of the best to increase our family's standings. He wanted me to be the perfect poster child and cared nothing of the person I was. As a child I never got the praise I needed and I became a bully. He never loved or treated my mother well, and he threw us to the side whenever he had something that was worth more time in his views.

When Voldemort came back it got so much worse though. His teachings of prejudice and hatred grew even more. He tried to shove even more of it down my throat. He became more violent towards my mother and I, and I found it harder and harder to deal with all of that stress. It got worse when he wanted me to join the Death Eaters. In the end I did because I thought that he might be less violent and it might do me some good. Instead it became so much worse, because then I had not just my father trying to hurt me and use me, but the rest of the Death Eaters and Voldemort himself. Trying to stay out of their way was very difficult and was much harder when Voldemort tasked me with killing Dumbledore to make up for my father's mistakes. Yet another time my father failed me and made my life miserable.

But after the war he changed. Technically I don't really know what he was like immediately after the war because the only time I really saw him was during our trials. The rest of the time I spent locked away in my room. I did however climb out of my room at night when it was so late that there was barely any movement. I'd sit on the roof of the manor and watch the stars, just trying to find a sense of calm and to shut out the whispering voices in my head. While I was up there though, there were a couple instances where I'd see two figures walking in the garden. Dark robes and pale faces illuminated by the glow of the moon and stars. The first time it happened I thought I was just dreaming, but the subsequent times afterwards I merely watched them as they interacted with each other in a way I never thought they would. During those instances, I allowed myself a sliver of hope that perhaps our family would heal itself after almost 2 decades of pain. Unfortunately my father went to Azkaban and my mother died shortly afterwards.

Then I found out that my father is actually working with the Ministry now to help catch Death Eaters. That he'd known of my life at Hogwarts since I started this year. That he's been watching me this whole time. Influencing little bits of it, slowly coming back into the picture now. Even right now he's influencing my ability to concentrate, making it harder for me to get the good grades to impress him.

I honestly can't decide what to think of him now. I want to forgive him for everything, but he also hurt me so much and I'm not sure how it'll influence our relationship later on in life. There's just so much that's unclear and I haven't quite come to terms with. The best part is, I don't even know how he's getting updates on the Hogwarts' ongoings and what the details of that are like. I don't know how much he knows and it's actually kind of creepy.

I allow myself to get back and focused on my surroundings so that I can start my work, only to realize that it's now almost late enough for them to be finishing dinner down in the Great Hall. I have two options; either study now and get some leftovers from the kitchens, or pack up my stuff to get a proper meal and then have to come back here to do my work. I decide to take the former option.

I stand up to go search the shelves for some good books and research materials for my latest Alchemy assignment, and for what must have been the thousandth time this year, wished that I could just use my family's library. The whole thing is extensive and contains many journals and reference texts about a wide variety of topics. I also designed a new system of organizing it during my self-imposed exile in my room during the summer, so I have a very good idea of what books are in the library and which ones could help me right now.

When I select some good texts, I head back to the table I've set all my stuff up at and get to work. After all of the thinking I did earlier, I just push myself to get this paper done. Once I'm okay with how it's turned out, I take a quick glance at my watch, only to see that it's almost 9:45. Not that late if we're talking in general, but not very early for someone who would like some dinner. I gather my work together and pack it up in my bag. I then put the texts and journals into a pile so that I can put them back. I stand up after stretching my legs to make sure they won't collapse on me once I stand up. I then get up and get the stuff I have to return and do a weird hobble while doing so. Once I'm done with that I leave the library and head towards the kitchens.

I enter the kitchens and one of house elves I don't know very well comes to greet me.

"Hello sir. Would you like me to put together a meal for you?" He asks me. I'm surprised at his grammar and how he speaks with a very normal voice but I refuse to let that surprise show on my face or in my voice.

"Yes please, if you have time." I ask politely.

"Of course, please sit over here while I prepare everything." He then guides me to a small table with three small chairs around it. I guess a lot of students do this if the house elves actually set up a small waiting area. I only wait for about 5 minutes before he comes over with a small tea tray containing a piece of chicken, penne alfredo, and broccolini. I thank him before heading up to my dorm so I can go eat.

When I get upstairs I enter our portrait hole and put my bag down on a stool and my food on the counter of the kitchenette. I hear a faint noise of music so I try to go closer to it.

 _Well, they say people come  
_ _The say people go  
_ _This particular diamond was extra special  
_ _And though you might be gone, and the world may not know  
_ _Still I see you, celestial_

I'm pretty sure that it's coming from up the stairs in either Hermione's room or the bathroom since I know she showers in the evening and may be doing that right now. I walk up the stairs and realize that it's coming from her room.

 _And I should but I can't let you go  
_ _But when I'm cold, I'm cold  
_ _Yeah, when I'm cold  
_ _Cold  
_ _There's a light that you give me when I'm in shadow  
_ _There's a feeling within me, an everglow_

The piano melody is beautiful and I strain my ears to hear all of it. The lyrics and tune have a very melancholy feel to it and it just makes me feel so peaceful as well.

 _Like brothers in blood, or sisters who ride  
_ _Yeah we swore on that night we'd be friends 'til we die  
_ _But the changing of winds, and the way waters flow  
_ _Life is short as the falling of snow  
_ _And I'm gonna miss you, I know_

I listen carefully and hear Hermione's voice mixed in with it as well. I lean against the wall just outside of her room and sit on the floor so that I'm just a little bit more comfortable. Then I try to listen and take in as much of the song as I can.

 _But when I'm cold, cold  
_ _In water rolled, salt  
_ _And I know that you're with me and the way you will show  
_ _And you're with me wherever I go  
_ _And you give me this feeling, this everglow_

 _What I wouldn't give for just a moment to hold  
_ _Because, I live for this feeling, this everglow  
_ _So if you love someone, you should let them know  
_ _Oh, the light that you left me will everglow_

When the song finishes, I quickly go down the stairs again and grab my laptop so that I can look up the song to listen to later. I type in a lyric from what I thought was the chorus based on what I could hear and type it into Google. From there, I find out that the song is called Everglow by Coldplay. I click on the first YouTube link and see a video with a figure skater performing a very beautiful dance. It's mesmerizing and I find that it's filled with so much emotion. I add it to a couple playlists before adding it to my phone as well.

I have my dinner at the counter before heading up to my own room and getting ready to get to sleep for a relatively early night. As I'm doing this, I remember that I had kind of promised Ron that I would be at dinner. I sort of failed there.

I put my earbuds into my phone and start to listen to Everglow again. Examining it again a little more closely, I realize that it mirrors my feelings for Hermione somewhat. The only difference is that I have let her know. I also know that she does care for me. However I know that she isn't quite at the same point I'm at and I'll wait for her till she's ready, even if it never happens. I'd hate to be in a relationship where she constantly feels uncomfortable, so for now I will be there to support her and care for her. Even if it hurts me like a knife in the heart and slowly kills me. Even if my days are never quite as happy as I'd like them to be. Because in the end, she's the light of my life and it can never be as sad as it could when she's around.

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Author's Note: Almost to chapter 50! Yay, another milestone! The song I used in this was Everglow by Coldplay. Thanks for the support guys, but please review! Sorry about the later updates, I've had time but I'm getting a shortage of ideas and brain isn't working. I'm gonna stop promising dates for chapters. It'll be updated when it is. In the meantime feel free to leave feedback, both negative and positive, or ask questions. It'd be really nice by the way if we could get 20 reviews for the 50 chapters, two nice round numbers *nudge nudge*. By the way I can't respond to reviews if they're posted by a guest. You need to sign in or create an account if you want me to answer the question. Have a great week all of you, till next time!


	50. Ice Cream, Relationships, & Invitation

Disclaimer: I do not own the Harry Potter franchise, nor anything affiliated with it.

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Hermione's POV

I hurry to put on my cardigan over top of my tank top so that I can head down to meet Luna and Ginny at the entrance hall. We're supposed to be going into Hogsmeade to hang out and have some girl time. I mean I love all of my friends, but there are certain things that you just can't talk about in front of the guys. Especially now, since Draco and I are a little rocky at the moment. Anyway I quickly grab my purse and sling it over my shoulder now that I'm changed. I do a once over of my appearance before dashing out of my room and to the entrance.

I get down and see the two of them standing by the doors waiting to leave. Ginny is sitting on the floor and attempting to throw a small hex at Ron who is just passing by, unfortunately she misses and hits a poor first year student. Luna is staring kindly at something on the back of her hand and I realize that it's a little ladybug. Of course, with the weather warming up now, the little bugs and insects are coming out. I don't mind ladybugs all that much, but ants are a much different story. I mean all creatures are okay, especially the magical ones, but ants have always freaked me out.

When I was younger, I used to hide chocolate and sweets in my room because my parents wouldn't let me eat them. Then a year or two after I started doing that, I got an ant infestation in my room. They were everywhere, in my bed, on my bookshelves, and in my closet. My parents found out about my stash but didn't punish me since they decided that the experience was scaring enough. It takes every ounce of my willpower not to kill them when I see them, but it helps that I care so much about all life.

I rush over to them and Ginny notices me first. She gets up and motions to Luna that I've arrived. Luna looks up and smiles while gently waving with her free hand so as not to disturb the cute little bug on her hand.

"Hey Hermione, shall we get going?" Ginny asks me.

"Yeah, sorry for keeping you guys waiting." I reply.

"It's alright Hermione. You are our friend, we wouldn't leave you behind." Says Luna.

"Thanks Luna." I say.

We then head to the doors and get our names checked off by Filch. We walk down the path towards Hogsmeade and walk a little slow due to a large group of very chatty third years. By the time we finally get down to the village, it's almost time for lunch so we decide to head to the Hog's Head for an early meal.

We pick a quiet table near the back and wait for the waitress to come get our orders. When she arrives at our table, she smiles at us in recognition since we're pretty regular customers and she really likes our group.

"Hey guys. Back again?" She asks in a teasing voice. We nod in affirmation. "Real nice weather outside, no? Finally warming up out here after the winter."

"Yes, it's beautiful. Hopefully you get some time to go out in it during your break." I say.

"Thanks darling. So what'll you guys be having today? Do you want the special?"

"I'd like to hear the special please." Says Luna in her usual airy voice.

"Sure thing honey. Today's special is potato and leek soup with a side of garlic bread and a butterbeer." Another thing I've noticed since we started coming here more often as a school, is that the place is much more vibrant and lively than it used to be. The food is also a reflection of this change. Before Aberforth got to know the students during the last school year, it was always very gloomy in here and the quality of the food and drink wasn't great.

"I'll have a special then please." Replies Luna.

"I'll have one as well please." Adds Ginny.

"Make that three please." I finish.

The waitress nods and then heads to the kitchen to put in the orders before coming back out to give us our butterbeers.

"So how are your classes going?" I ask the two of them.

"Pretty good, I'm not doing too bad for marks." Replies Ginny.

"I'm doing very well, this years teachers are much more interested in what I have to say. Our classmates also don't mind talking to me as much, some of them even come to me when they need advice and help." There's a hint of pride in Luna's voice as well as happiness. She's always been ostracized by her peers so it's nice that she's finally fitting in a bit.

"That's good for both of you." I reply to them.

We chat idly for a bit while waiting for our food, but once it gets to the table we all eat pretty quickly. I love this type of soup, it's really rich and it's something that my dad used to make for my family on the weekends in the winter. We finish fairly quickly and leave the appropriate amount of galleons, sickles, and knuts.

We head outside and go to a small ice cream parlour that opened up a couple months ago. It's located just a few storefronts away from Honeydukes. They have a small business partnership which allows kids to get free ice cream if they buy a certain amount of candy, and for them to earn stamps for every ice cream purchase; if you fill a card of eight stamps you get a 10 galleon discount on your next Honeydukes purchase.

When we finally make it to the cafe and walk inside, I notice Pansy sitting by herself at a two person table next to the window. Even though it's bright and sunny, and there's so much vibrance in the parlour from the people, there is an air of sadness around her. She's staring out of the window with a blank expression of her face and her left hand is grasping a small glass of lemonade on the table.

Since I walked in first and notice this, I go over to her.

"Hey Pansy." I say gently; I don't want to surprise her and have her knock over her drink. She blinks once and turns to look at me in a way that suggests she only just too notice of the fact that I was in front of her.

"Hello Granger." She replies in a cool measured manner, with a slight edge to her voice.

"I was wondering if you'd like to join Ginny, Luna, and I. The guys aren't joining us today so they won't be interrupting and getting too boisterous like usual." I figure it's a good thing that the guys aren't here today since I think it would put her omre on edge and less likely to join our group. I refrain from pointing out the fact that she looks lonely because I feel she'd feel insulted by that.

"Sure I guess…" She finally responds after about 30 seconds of considering her options. She follows me over to the table that Ginny and Luna picked out for us. Thankfully they copped onto the fact that I went to get Pansy, and made sure to get a table with four chairs.

"Hi Pansy." Says Luna, while giving her a smile and a wave.

Pansy responds to Luna with a tightly-lipped smile and nod. Luna doesn't appear to notice, though I don't think she'd care anyways. If she did catch it, she'd probably file the information away for later to help understand Pansy in case she ever needed to have one of her conversations with her.

"So Pansy," I begin to ask, "How are you and Ron doing?" I ask this as a bit of small talk, but also to try and get the most awkward stuff done at the beginning so she might lighten up a bit around us.

"I'm sorry Granger, I didn't realize that we were here to analyze my life." Pansy replies in a very sardonic tone of voice, with a slight sneer gracing her features.

Luna gives Pansy a semi-stern glare and she drops the sneer. However, she does continue to stew quietly into her lemonade.

"Alright, Luna and Ginny, what ice cream do you guys want?" I ask them.

"Bubblegum please." replies Luna

"Blood Orange Sorbet like usual please." responds Ginny.

"Okay. Pansy would you like an ice-cream? I'm paying this week." I say.

"Um… I guess I'll get a Lime Sorbet, but if they don't have it then a Black Cherry one… please." She replies.

"Alright, so one Bubblegum, one Blood Orange, one Lime or Black Cherry, and one Butter Pecan for me. I should be back in about a minute or two." I then get up and head over to the counter to place our orders.

Walking over, I tell the guy behind the counter our orders and request for them to be put in waffle bowls, for an extra charge of course. In the wizarding world they designed a charm that allows the waffle bowls to stay dry. They also made a charm that prevented the ice cream for melting. When the guy behind the counter finishes scooping it all for me, I take them and head back to the table. I hand them out to my friends and then sit down.

"Wow, thanks." says Pansy. I smile at her and she accepts the bowl of ice cream. All three girls dig in, and I begin to eat mine as well.

I love the taste a butter pecan ice cream. The taste brings me back to when my dad and I used to go to the river in the nearby park and get ice cream from a little pop up ice cream stand. The ice cream here is almost identical and texture to the one I used to get. It's so light and creamy on my tongue, the sweetness blowing my mind away. It just makes me feel closer to my father and reminds me of the good times we had.

"So, Pansy, how are you and Ron doing? You seem to be a little sad at the moment, or at least you were when we walked in. Are you guys okay?" I asked her.

"I didn't realize we were here to examine my whole life Granger." She spits at me. Darn, and here I was thinking that we could have a conversation without getting into a fight.

"I wasn't trying to be rude," I tell her, " I just wanted to make sure you were okay. I know how he can be sometimes. If ever you want some tips on how to deal with him, or you just want to talk, you can talk to all three of us. We'd be happy to help."

"Sorry, I guess we aren't doing too well the moment. I may have to wait to take you up on your offer though. Maybe another time." She replies.

"It's alright." I say to her.

"Well since we're already on this topic, how are you and Draco doing?" She asks me. Sneaky little snake. I'm surprised that I didn't see this coming though.

"Draco and I aren't really happening at the moment. It's not that we don't want to be together, I just asked for a break. Things have been a little stressful lately and well… let's say I've been getting very controlling and paranoid." I tell her. She nods when I say things have been a little hectic for me, but I can't tell if she's mocking me or is just acknowledging that it has.

"Yeah, trust me, I know Draco and I can tell when something's up with him. He hasn't been the same since the semi-formal dance. You guys have a spat or something?" She asks me in a surprisingly interested tone. I'm surprised by her bluntness but I don't really see the harm in answering her question.

"Sort of, not so much of a spat as a break. I've been kind of stressed as of late and… well… I've kind of, sort of been taking it out on Draco. I don't want to hurt him and I think it's best if we take a bit of a step back while I try and sort this out." Ginny nods at me encouragingly and I smile in thanks. Luna seems to be absorbing the information and comparing it with what she already knows. She has a somewhat blank expression, but you can see her brain working in the look in her eyes.

"Okay, that's interesting… it explains a lot actually." Pansy seems very pensive and I let her think. In the meantime, both Ginny and Luna have finished their ice cream while Pansy and I still have a little bit left.

"Sorry, Ginny, Luna, how are you guys doing with your guys? You guys been having any issues or have you been going steady?" I ask.

"Neville and I have been spending a lot of time recently studying the effects of certain plants on psychology and people's moods. It's quite interesting and we've already discovered many uses for more common plants. I think it'll be very helpful for dealing with stressed and depressed people as well as people with anxiety." Says Luna.

"That's amazing Luna! It's really cool what you two are doing together. Good luck on those experiments." I say.

"Thanks. Ginny, how's yours and Harry's relationship been? Has he been replying to your emails or is he busy?" Asks Luna.

"Well he's been responding to my letters, but we don't write as often as we used too. He says that the Auror department has been quite busy these days and he's been busy trying to work on a special project at the moment. He won't tell me what it is though and he usually does so that I can help him." Says Ginny with a very annoyed expression.

I know what the project is of course. It's probably the project with Lucius. I try to keep a straight face and not give anything away with my body language or expressions. However I'm sure Pansy notices a change in me since I see her raise an eyebrow in my direction though thankfully she doesn't say anything. Hopefully I didn't give away too much to her.

"So what exactly do you guys usually talk about anyway?" Asks Pansy. I guess it's a fair question. For her, based on what she's seen and heard so far, it would seem like we only talk about guys. Which isn't entirely wrong, but we don't just talk about guys.

"Well it depends." I say. "Sometimes we talk about guys, but we also talk about quidditch, food, clothes, school work, friends, old memories, plans for the future, teachers, students, what's been going through the Hogwarts' rumour mill and comparing what we've heard with what we know… I guess the conversation just kind of flows where it does."

"Oh." Says Pansy thoughtfully. After a bit of deliberation she responds. "So not that different from what Millicent, Tracey, and I used to talk about."

"Of course Pansy. Just because we're from different houses doesn't mean we're different species. Blood doesn't mean we're that different either. We're all still human." I say.

Pansy looks a little embarrassed by my remark; She flushes a little red and looks away briefly. Luna seems to gaze very intently at Pansy, probably to gauge her reaction properly.

"That's not what I meant." She stammers. "I just thought you would talk about different things because… well… it's not that you guys are that different, but…" I stop her.

"Don't worry, I know what you mean. But we really aren't that different from you guys."

"Thank I guess." She says.

"So how is muggle studies going for you? Ron helping at all or is he just as confused? I mean I guess you're his tutor, but I'm certain you're both helping each other."

"Hermione, you're rambling." Says Ginny in a teasing voice.

"Well, I'm just nervous because although there's a new muggle studies professor now, she's following the curriculum and lesson plans from last semester. Which means not just Professor Carrington's but Draco's and mine as well. Also, I put Pansy and Ron together as partners." I say in a slightly scared voice. I don't want Pansy to kill me now that she knows she and Ron were only partners because I requested it. Pansy just glares at me, but then slowly changes her expression to a smirk.

"Of course you did." She responds. "Well, Ron and I have been doing pretty well. We're doing pretty well in terms of the work and I must say it's a lot easier to focus when you're working with someone you can get along with. Yes, I do get along with him now. The professor is a little clueless though. It's a good thing she has all of the lessons you guys did to work with. I don't think she'd be able to teach our class very well without them."

Luna then speaks up. "Well from what she's told me, she's just nervous about teaching such smart students after Draco and Hermione taught our year so well last semester. She's also a little nervous that something bad will happen to her as well. You know, since Professor Carrington had that incident at the airport, and you guys had the airport and the attack at school. She says that among the teaching circles, it's become the new taboo position like the Defense Against the Dark Arts one."

I can't help but laugh at this. I'm not alone either. Soon Ginny, Luna, and even Pansy have joined me and by the time we finish laughing I'm gasping for air. Something about the way Luna said it, with her airy voice like usual but with a note of seriousness made it just seem absurd and really funny.

We talk for a little longer but soon enough, the sun has started to set. We pop over to Honeydukes and get a few treats each. By the time we're done there it's pretty much time for us to go back up to the castle for dinner.

We head back but still keep chatting. We even convince Pansy to stay and eats food with us at our end of the table. When we wrap up for the night, I say my goodbyes and feeling very content and happy. I guess I'm glad that I'm no longer fighting with Pansy now… I think.

I get up to my room and just flop on my bed in my room. Though I enjoyed the time with my friends, I'm also really exhausted. Mostly just mentally though. I curl up in a ball and Nat jumps up onto my bed. She pads over to me and turns in a few circles before lying down next to me so I can cuddle her and give her a rub.

I fall asleep listening to the noise of her breathing and feeling the rise and fall of her chest.

* * *

Author's Note: Thanks for all of your support guys! I now have 20 reviews! This is chapter 50 which is great. I feel like I actually hit a milestone, even if I was struggling so much to get here. However, as I'm sure you've all noticed in the quality of my writing and the drop of actual content being produced, I've kind of hit a writer's block. Also, some of you may have noticed that I put a note on the story summary recently about it. I do have an over-arching plan for this story and it bothers me quite a lot that I can't bang out the details. Unfortunately, writing comes in fits and starts and I'm currently at a fit. In other words, I'm going on hiatus for a bit. This shouldn't last more than 2 months but I will update before the next school year starts. While I'm away, I'll also work on editing the story since I know it has lots of writing errors and a few continuity issues.

As always, please review, and I'd love to hear feedback from you guys. Encouragement would be nice so that I know you guys are still interested, but it's not necessary. I don't mind questions but please log in or create an account because I can't reply if you submit your review as a guest. There are some things I'd prefer to respond to directly instead of on the next chapter especially since updates haven't been frequent and won't be happening for a bit. Anyway, have a good week, love you guys, till next time!


	51. Weird Behaviour, Snacks, & Antics

Disclaimer: I do not own the Harry Potter franchise, nor anything affiliated with it.

* * *

Hermione's POV

I leave the charms classroom while chatting with Padma about our most recent project. I've been getting a lot closer with a lot of my classmates this year and it's kind of nice to be able to socialize outside of the Golden trio for once. Ron and Harry aren't here to dictate who I hang out with and I like the different dynamics I experience with the rest of my classmates, and the fact that I can talk with more of the girls in my year.

As we turn the corner in the hall, I can see someone following us out of the corner of my eye. Most of the time that's normal, we pretty much all take the same route down to Alchemy except for a handful of students. However the most noticeable thing is that I catch a flash of blonde hair, most likely Draco's. The flash I caught was also from someone who sped up quickly as if they didn't want to lose sight of me. Recently I've spotted Draco following me every now and then, though it's with growing frequency these days. I wish I had the Marauders map so I could confirm my theories because he's being a little creepy now.

I really want to confront him so I finish my conversation with Padma quickly, but politely, and then double back around a few students so that I'm behind him now. I tap his shoulder to get his attention.

"Hi Draco. What have you been up to?" I ask. He practically jumps when he hears me.

"Oh! Umm… not that much? You?" He replies while looking a little nervous and awkward. Strange, he's not usually like this. Unfortunately I've had the same reaction from him almost every time I've talked to him within the past two weeks.

I sigh internally before responding. "I haven't been doing much, well besides homework and reading."

"Okay. Reading is nice." We then fall into an uncomfortable silence, and soon enough we arrive at Alchemy.

I take a seat and see him sit down just a few desks away. Another weird thing he's been doing recently. He sits close, but not next to me. Usually 3-4 seats away. And then he stares at me sometimes. It's a little unsettling and I'm not sure what to do about any of this. It isn't like him at all so it makes it even more confusing. I also feel kind of lonely without him sitting next to me like usual, kind of like at the beginning of the year without Harry and Ron, which doesn't help.

Pushing away my thoughts about Draco, I pull out my notes and get ready for today's Alchemy lesson.

* * *

The common room is empty today since I know Draco and the rest of the gang are having lunch in the Great Hall. I wanted a bit of a quieter place to have my food, so I came back here. Although, while there aren't any people making noise, our ferrets are wrestling with each other near the window and causing a bit of a racket.

I put my food on the coffee table and pull out my phone and earbuds to listen to some music while I eat. I open up my music app and hit shuffle on one of my playlists. The song that comes on first is The Story of Us by Taylor Swift. I facepalm but keep the song on instead of changing it. Recently this song has been playing a lot and unfortunately I still like it as much as I used to.

 _I used to think one day we'd tell the story of us  
_ _How we met and the sparks flew instantly  
_ _People would say, "they're the lucky ones"_

Funnily enough, not a lot of people have noticed that we drifted apart except for our close friends. I mean, most of them didn't even realize we were kind of together at all. I just assumed that everyone knew since we're both pretty famous and people like sticking their heads in our business, but I guess they actually didn't.

 _I used to know my place was a spot next to you  
_ _Now I'm searching the room for an empty seat  
_ _'Cause lately I don't even know what page you're on_

I laugh quietly to myself since this verse reminds of the weird seating thing that I noticed in Alchemy today. It's kind of ridiculous how silly and petty these kind of things are, and how awkward things become when friendships or relationships end. I still can't change that though, so it'll probably keep going on like this for a while.

 _Oh, a simple complication  
_ _Miscommunications lead to fall out  
_ _So many things that I wish you knew  
_ _So many walls up I can't break through_

This is so accurate. There were so many miscommunications in our relationship. Both Draco and I assumed too many things which led to a few too many disasters. I assumed way too much and I didn't always want to wait to hear the full answer or even the right ones.

 _Now I'm standing alone in a crowded room_  
 _And we're not speaking and I'm dying to know_  
 _Is it killing you like it's killing me yeah_  
 _I don't know what to say since the twist of fate_  
 _When it all broke down and the story of us_  
 _Looks a lot like a tragedy now_

 _How'd we end up this way?  
See me nervously pulling at my clothes  
And trying to look busy  
And you're doing your best to avoid me_

I feel like this verse is almost entirely Draco, but maybe I'm wrong. Most of the time I look busy but I'm just reading because I like to, but perhaps I've been reading more than usual now. Draco on the other hand, definitely either avoids me or kind of follows me in a not-very-discreet way.

 _I'm starting to think one day I'll tell the story of us  
_ _How I was losing my mind when I saw you here  
_ _But you held your pride like you should have held me_

Pride was probably more of my fault. I could be quite stubborn and intolerant of certain things he did while he adapted to me and was very accommodating. Now that the dust has settled I know that most of this was my fault but I guess I still have too much pride to actually apologize to him properly.

 _Oh, I'm scared to see the ending  
_ _Why are we pretending this is nothing?  
_ _I'd tell you I miss you but I don't know how  
_ _I've never heard silence quite this loud_

 _Now I'm standing alone in a crowded room  
_ _And we're not speaking and I'm dying to know  
_ _Is it killing you like it's killing me yeah  
_ _I don't know what to say since the twist of fate  
_ _When it all broke down and the story of us  
_ _Looks a lot like a tragedy now_

 _This is looking like a contest  
_ _Of who can act like they care less  
_ _But I liked it better when you were on my side  
_ _The battle's in your hands now  
_ _But I would lay my armor down  
_ _If you'd say you'd rather love than fight_

 _So many things that you wish I knew  
_ _But the story of us might be ending soon_

 _Now I'm standing alone in a crowded room  
_ _And we're not speaking and I'm dying to know  
_ _Is it killing you like it's killing me yeah  
_ _I don't know what to say since the twist of fate  
_ _When it all broke down and the story of us  
_ _Looks a lot like a tragedy now, the end_

The song ends and another starts but since lunch will be over soon I focus more on eating my food than listening to the music, letting the notes and lyrics fade to the back of my mind.

* * *

I quickly rummage around in my suitcase looking for the packs of candy and snacks I got from Honeydukes recently. If I don't leave soon I'm going to be late. I pull out some chocolate bars, some toffees, and some butter tarts before placing them into my purse. I close my trunk and then leave to go to the Astronomy Towers.

When I get up there I see Ginny, Luna, and Pansy up there already.

"Hermione, what is up with you being late to all of our little 'girl meet ups' and breaks? I swear if this was school related you'd be here a good hour early." Says Ginny with an upset and slightly angry expression, similar to Mrs. Weasley.

"Sorry guys. I couldn't find the snacks for a while. Also, I'm only 3 minutes late! How early were the rest of you?" I reply.

"We were all exactly on time." Answers Luna.

"Of course. Just my luck." I grumble to myself.

I sit down with them in a circle near one of the walls in the tower. I pull out the snacks for them and we all start munching on them.

"Hey Hermione, these are all really good. I'm glad you brought them for us." Comments Pansy. I smile pointedly at Ginny who just rolls her eyes in response.

"You're welcome. So what are we going to do tonight besides sit here and eat?" I ask.

As I ask my question known we hear shouts of laughter and whooping coming from the Quidditch pitch. The sun hasn't quite set yet so we can see three shapes on brooms laughing at another wobbling a little closer to the ground. That must be Ron, Blaise, Draco, and Neville. I heard them mentioning something about it earlier at dinner.

"Guys, can you see what they're doing?" Asks Ginny.

"They appear to be flying and laughing at Neville for not being as… adept on a broom than them. I think it's kind of cute." Replies Luna with a very pleasant smile on her face.

We all burst out laughing. Neville hasn't gone near a broom since first year to my knowledge, so for him to be on a broom is a miracle.

"So girls, what are we going to do tonight? As fun as it is watching the guys goof off over there, we came here to have some time to be girls without them all here." Says Ginny taking charge of our group like usual.

"Pansy do you have any suggestions?" I ask.

"Um… well a couple of me and the other girls in Slytherins used to play this game called Paranoia. It's pretty fun and but it can be a little stressful. I personally find it better to play in a group of the same gender." She says after thinking for a moment or two.

"How does it work?" I must say that her lack of a proper explanation is making me quite curious. Usually when Ginny, Luna, and I meet up we just play a game of cards or talk. This game sounds a bit like truth or dare which is cool but makes me a bit wary at the same time.

"Well we usually sit in a circle, which I guess we're already in. The first person to start turns to someone next to them and whispers them a question. The answer to the question has to be a name. So an example would be if I asked Hermione who her favourite teacher is. She'd then say the persons name out loud but no one would know the question. The catch is that it has to be someone in the circle. Since it's just the four of us I think it would be best if we included the four guys as options to answer."

It sounds really cool but I can see how it could get very stressful. I think the game is very aptly named. We all quickly agree to play and Pansy starts with asking me a question.

[P-H, If you had to choose someone to become blind or deaf, who would it be?] I glare at Pansy when she asks me this and she just shrugs in response. I hate having this question; she's making me choose to hurt one of my friends. This is the kind of thing that would make me feel guilty even though it doesn't have an impact on the person I choose. I sigh and then say the name. [Draco] She raises an eyebrow at me and I just put on my best poker face in return.

[H-L, If you ended up in St. Mungo's, who would you choose to be your emergency contact? Neville]

Since we're all limited to the people in our gang of Hogwarts friends, I'm not very surprised by her answer.

[L-G, Who would you choose to be the best man/maid of honour at your wedding? Hermione]

[G-P, Who would you choose to be the Godparent of your first-born child? Blaise]

[P-H, If you had a heart attack and died, who would you prefer to find your body?] Wow, I'm surprised by the bluntness of Pansy's questions. There is a certain morbid tone to her questions so far. [Luna] My choice is Luna because I trust her to be able to break the news to my friends gently and in the right way. She's just great at dealing with delicate matters and has the emotional smarts to properly deal with the situation and gauge each person.

[H-L, Assuming gender isn't an issue, who would be an ideal roommate? Neville]

[L-G, Who do you think is the most likely to become famous? Hermione]

[G-P, If you had to name one of your future kids after someone here, who would it be? Draco]

[P-H, Who makes you feel the most comfortable?] I smile and know instantly who I would choose. She seems to be adamant to make a point with all of her questions. [Draco] I feel like Pansy is enjoying this way too much and her innocent smile just proves this.

I have thought however that perhaps it might be nice to switch who we ask questions to.

"Before I ask my question of Luna, would it be possible to switch up the order and direction every now and then so that there's more variation and you can ask more than one person questions?" I ask.

"Sure if you guys want to." Replies Pansy with a smirk. I just roll my eyes at her.

"I'll ask Luna my question and then we can switch so Luna asks me and then keep going in that direction."

"Okay, sounds cool. Let's just hurry up and get on with it." Says Ginny impatiently.

Ignoring Ginny, I turn to Luna to whisper my question to her.

[H-L, Whose death would you be most saddened by? Ginny]

[L-H, Who would you like to sing a duet with at this moment?] I love the somewhat randomness about Luna's question and how simple it is. I'm not entirely sure. I'd love to sing one with Draco but I feel like singing one with one of the girls could be more fun. [Pansy]

[H-P, Who do you think is the most likely person to give up a big opportunity? Draco] Her response is said quite seriously and with complete certainty. I guess she has known him pretty well for about 8 years now. But I do wonder if this has happened before and what it was about. Her certainty indicates that she's basing her answer off of experience.

[P-G, You have to kill someone's parents, whose? Blaise]

[G-L, Who do you think is the worst at keeping secrets? Ron]

[L-H, Who do you think is the weirdest person? Neville]

[H-P, Who do you think is most likely to understand or have understood your biggest struggle?] She looks pensive for a moment then asks me a question.

"Can I answer with two people?"

"Sure I guess, the context is okay." I reply after a moment of thought.

[Draco or Blaise] I nod.

[P-G, If you were stuck in a remote or inaccessible location with 1 person for a year, who would it be? Hermione]

[G-L, Who do you think would make the best Minister of Magic? Hermione]

[L-H, If you travelled back in time to when Grindelwald was alive and you could have a travelling partner, who would you take with you?] I know that Newt Scamander was alive at that point in time and I think that Luna would love to go back then and meet him. [Luna]

[H-P, Who is the most likely to stay single? Blaise]

[P-G, Who have you had the weirdest dreams about? Ron]

[G-L, Who would you trust the least to cook you a meal from scratch? Neville]

[L-H, Who do you think is the best at hiding their thoughts and feelings?] I know the answer to this question instantly. [Draco] From what we've shared with each other I know that he's had to hide much more stuff than most people, and for longer than most people as well.

[H-P, Who have you had the most embarrassing experiences with? Draco] Now I'm curious to know what happened between them. Is it something that would be funny or something that could make me jealous?

[P-G, Who do you think is the most likely to become a strict parent? Hermione]

"We're switching directions again. I have an idea for a good question for Pansy." Says Ginny.

Everyone else nods to accept the decision since we know that we probably won't be able to argue with her. The last time we tried to change her mind about something that she sounded so sure about, it ended with both Neville and Blaise hanging by their toes from the top of the chandelier, me being chased and then attacked by her engorgioed Pygmy Puff under them, Luna and Draco watching amusedly from the side, and half of the school watching before Professor McGonagall came down to stop her.

[G-P, Who cheers you up the most? Ron]

[P-H, If you had to be tortured in front of someone, who would it be?] Pansy's question catches me off guard just like most of her other ones. I don't know how she comes up with them. I mean I have been tortured in front of one of the people involved with this game before. I've been tortured while 3 of these people have been in the same house. I'm not entirely sure about my answer but I give it anyway. [Luna]

I don't think that Ron and Draco would be able to stand experiencing something similar again. I also don't want anyone who wasn't involved the first time to have to experience it. Luna would probably be able to handle it. I think. She shouldn't be able, but I'm pretty sure she could.

[H-L, Who do you think has the most secrets? Neville] I'm surprised by her answer but I'm sure she knows much more about him than the rest of us do

[L-G, Who would you save if you could only save one person from a burning building? Ron]

[G-P, Who would you choose to spend the last 5 minutes of your life with? Ron]

[P-H, If you left all of your possessions and assets to one person in your will, who would it be? Ginny]

[H-L, Who is the most likely to become the cool aunt or uncle? Ron]

[L-G, Who do you think will be the last person to get married? Hermione]

[G-P, Who do you think is the most likely to win in a duel? Draco]

[P-H, If you had to stop talking to one person for the rest of your life, who would it be?] This is a difficult one. I have to think for a while. I wouldn't want to cut all communications with any of my friends ever, not even Pansy. But I have to choose someone. After a bit of debating, I decide to choose someone who would understand and know that I wouldn't do it for no reason. [Luna]

"Guys, it's getting a bit late, how about we stop the game and-" I'm cut off from saying this as we all hear a loud yell from where the guys were earlier.

We all whip our heads to look over and see Ron flying frantically from a stray bludger. It's chasing him all around the pitch while the rest of them try and cast spells on it to stop it. Neville is closer to the ground than the rest of them and it looks like he's trying to get the case for all of the Quidditch balls, presumably to capture the bludger.

He seems to have gotten the case and now Draco and Blaise have somehow gotten beaters bats and are trying to hit it into the case. Ron is still flying around erratically and we're all stifling giggles. After a few tense minutes of struggling from all four of them, they get the bludger under control. Though it shouldn't surprise me, Neville was able to get the ball under control and get it in the case once Blaise and Draco were able to sort of corral it near him.

Eventually we all stop looking and turn to each other instead with smiles still on our faces.

"Well that was eventful." Comments Pansy with a grin.

It's so weird having the four of us here and getting along like old friends. I would never have predicted that something like this could ever happen. We have two Gryffindors, one Ravenclaw, and one Slytherin all having fun and not attacking each other or fighting a war.

"It sure was. I wish I had a pensieve to show the rest of my family, they'd have loved to see Ron being attacked by a bludger like that." Adds Ginny.

"I didn't think that Neville would be able to catch the bluder and get it back into the case though." I say.

"Neville can be full of surprises sometimes." Says Luna with her characteristically dreamy smile.

"Yes he can." I comment with a wry smile. I'm reminded of all of the times that he's exceeded our expectations of him throughout our earlier school years and the Battle of Hogwarts. "Yes he can." The last time I say it, it's much quieter and I don't think they hear me. I wish that my thoughts didn't have to betray me and make me think of the more depressing and upsetting parts of my past.

"Hermione, you still with us here?" Asks Ginny. I shake my head to clear my thoughts and I realize that I've drifted off into space and that I missed what they were all just talking about.

"Sorry, I just got lost in thought."

"Oh it's fine. We were just talking about wrapping up soon. It's almost 9 and we want to get up early tomorrow so that we can hang out tomorrow morning before breakfast and then study later since we all know that you'll want us to work more as we get closer to final NEWTS. Even if we all know that they're still about 2 months away." Says Ginny with an expression that tells me they all think I'm crazy.

"Well, it's never too early to study. And I know that you guys won't have the attention span to study later on when it's closer to exam time and this way you won't be entirely unprepared." I add.

"Fine Granger, but I think that purebloods like myself should not have to work for what we want. We're just too amazing for that. I'll know everything for the exams." Says Pansy in a very fake pompous voice that makes us all explode in laughter. Pansy grins and flicks her hair dramatically to make it even more dramatic.

We all finally calm down soon enough to breathe properly, well at least so that most of us can; Ginny is still rolling around on the floor clutching her stomach in mirth.

"We should get going though, I know you guys won't sleep for the next two hours anyway." I say and they all groan.

"Okay, since Hermione is kicking us all out." Says Ginny with a pouty expression.

"Let's go guys." I glare at them in mock anger and they eventually get up with a few grumbles.

We chat some more as well walk down to the main staircases and split up to head to our respective common rooms. As we reach the stairs, we meet the guys who are all just coming up from the Quidditch pitch.

"Hey guys, you provided our group with lots of laughs earlier, just so you know." Says Ginny with a wink when they finally reach us.

They all pout and we just laugh at them.

"At least we weren't all gossiping at the top of a tower." Shoots back Ron.

"Yeah, real mature brother dearest." Counters Ginny. Ron just simmers in silence while his face turns red. This time the whole group of us laugh at him and the portraits start to glare at us disapprovingly.

"Well we better head." I say and we say goodbye to each other.

Draco and I walk up to our common room in silence but I'm too tired at this point to care, even if it's only about 9:30 right now. I'll wake up earlier tomorrow I guess.

As soon as we reach the portrait to our room I say the password and I go straight to my room without saying goodnight to him. Without getting changed, I just roll onto my bed and close my eyes.

* * *

Author's Note: So, I'm finally back again! Sorry about that wait. I had time to review and edit everything and I could plan some more chapters instead of coming up with new content each week last minute. Going on hiatus helped me get back some of my creativity without pressure. I also know that this is a Hermione chapter so we have two of them back to back, but when I was writing the original chapter 51, the direction that my writing took me meant that this one had to come first. When I post the next one you'll see what I mean. I hope you guys have had a good summer. I've written a couple chapters ahead so updates should be a little smoother than before. I've caught up with my editing so if you guys want to reread a couple chapters to refresh yourselves, you may notice a few small changes. Update schedule will be posted on my profile and updated every now and then.

For the game of Paranoia Hermione would not have known all of the questions which is why they're all in square brackets as well as who is speaking to whom. I hope that makes sense. If any of you guys want to know why I chose the answers I did for each person feel free to PM me.

Timeline wise, this chapter takes place about a week after chapter 50.

Thank you for sticking with me, I love you guys. Please send feedback, negative is fine as well. Have a great week all of you, till next time!


	52. Jobs, Offers, & Choices

Disclaimer: I do not own the Harry Potter franchise, nor anything affiliated with it.

* * *

Draco's POV

I look around at all of the students gathered here in one of the bigger classrooms before turning back to look at Headmistress McGonagall as she stands at the front. The regular desks and benches have been switched out for chairs and Hermione is just four seats away from me, chatting with Ginny. I wish I was closer to her. It's funny, I feel like I'm becoming like Potter now. I'm stalking someone now and trying to figure out that person's every move. I'm over analyzing everything that person is doing. That person being Hermione.

She's been spending quite a lot of time with Pansy, something I didn't think would happen, ever. I think they must be going crazy. Pansy is actually the happiest I've seen her in a long time, and I guess I have Hermione and Ron to thank for that. She's become quite comfortable with our group of friends and has opened up more than I've seen her do before. Even if I'm not interested in her, it doesn't mean I don't care about the well-being and happiness of one of my oldest friends. She's finally found people she can fun with and not have to worry about her public image or the things she's doing being used for blackmail when we're older. In Slytherin it's very common for people who don't like each other to gather blackmail material and use it later when we're older and socialites. Which means you can't quite let yourself go otherwise you expose yourself to them.

"Excuse me students! May I PLEASE have your attention!." Says, or rather shouts, McGonagall. "Now I'm sorry this is happening rather late into the academic year, but we've needed a lot of time to prepare after the… incident last year. A lot of employers are still getting back on their feet and the wizarding world is still in a bit of a state despite what it feels like in Hogwarts and how far we've come here.

Anyway, today we will be going over the different things you can do once you graduate. You should already have a career or destination in mind already as we covered this briefly in your fifth year and had to choose your courses accordingly this year. However I would like to inform all of you that since muggle studies was made mandatory and that most of you had a course replaced with it, all of your potential employers or professors have agreed to let you apply for what you want to do while missing up to one prerequisite. This is as long as all of your NEWTs are Acceptable or higher, though some of the more prestigious job positions and post-secondary programs may require a minimum of Exceeds Expectations for all of your classes."

I hear a number of students around me breathe sighs of relief. The most notable, and possibly the loudest, one coming from Hermione. I resist the urge to smirk. Thankfully this wasn't an issue for me, to be quite honest I didn't even think about it.

"Now that we have that sorted out, it's time to move onto the focus of today's gathering: the career fair." A couple students groan, while others laugh nervously. Still, some of the students just aren't listening and are chatting instead. Since I'm Head Boy, I get up and tell them off for it and remove 5 house points for each student. This is important for everyone's futures and I refuse to have those opportunities hindered by people who can't be bothered to stop talking for less than 15 minutes.

"Most of you I'm sure already have a rough idea of what you want to do. However, today will give you a better look into your future careers and maybe find out about others that you didn't know. Without further ado, you may now go down to the Great Hall where possible employers have set up booths for you to explore."

Everyone around me suddenly stands up and hurrying to the hall. I hang back a bit and wait for most of the students to leave before heading down myself. I don't want to get stuck in the mess that would have formed at the entrance to the hall and I also want to make sure that there aren't any stragglers or people trying to sneak off.

When I get there everyone is spread out among the different booths, though some of them have more people than others. Booths like the ones for the Aurors and Healers seems to be the busiest, while booths about private sector careers like Potioneering seem to be rather quite.

I start to head over to the Potioneering booth when I see a booth on the integration of muggle technology into wizarding society. Not much of a career per say, but it seems like they're trying to advertise the business potential in such a venture. A good idea since I know a lot of the Slytherins in my year are in charge of some rather large businesses and companies while their parents are in Azkaban.

I walk up to it and since it's a little crowded, I pick up one of the pamphlets they have there. I'm about to open it when one of wizards there notices me and starts to speak to me.

"Hello there, my name is Dennis Farnon but you can call me Denny." He's a younger man, about 25 or 30 I'd say, and he sounds like he has a bit of a Scottish background based on his accent but it isn't very thick. He extends a hand to shake and I grasp it firmly as I respond.

"Nice to meet you Dennis, I'm Draco Malfoy." His eyes widen a bit at my name and I can see he's heard of me. Or at least of my family name. We were quite popular in the news this summer and not always for the best stories. "Don't worry, I won't bite."

"Uh… no I'm not worried about that." He then shakes himself and he's back to how he was before. "Sorry. So what makes you interested in this booth?"

"Well, my g-... friend, got me interested in muggle technology a little while back and I've come to like it quite a bit. I'm in charge of my family's company so I was wondering if it would be worth investing in it's integration into the wizarding world." I say. He smiles and suddenly becomes much more animated.

"Ah, smart man. Yes, it seems as though muggle technology has taken the wizarding world by storm. Lots of witches and wizards are seeing the appeal of it and people have been working around the clock to find a way for magic to not interfere with tech. All the tech here has been modified from the originals so that the stuff wouldn't glitch or explode or anything nasty like that."

"Wow okay, it sounds a little dangerous but I think that based on what you've told me and what I've seen here at Hogwarts it's has a lot of potential right now. Which are the current big sellers?" I ask.

"At the moment WizTech is the biggest company, however I'd recommend investing in Cloakding. They're a smaller company and aren't the biggest at the moment but they are much more accurate with their work and have better quality products so chances of a lawsuit and other nasty stuff aren't as likely."

"Okay got it. Thanks for the advice Dennis."

"You're welcome Draco. Here's a pamphlet with more information so you don't have to remember everything I just said to you. And it was a pleasure." He says to me while handing me the pamphlet.

I put the pamphlet into my bag and then continue on towards the Potioneering booth once again. I'm only a few tables away when McGonagall comes over to me.

"Mr. Malfoy, might I have a word with you?" She says.

"Sure Headmistress." I say as she pulls me over to the side.

"I'll get straight to the point. I've been reviewing what you did for Muggle Studies with Ms. Granger and I just want you to know that you did a very good job for someone who was suddenly given that responsibility. Professor Lorund has been hired temporarily for the rest of the year and the year after that however I do not think that I will be renewing his contract. He doesn't seem to connect with the students and just follows the curriculum. You on the other hand did lots of hands on activities and had energy and passion."

"Thank you for the compliments Headmistress, but where exactly is this going?" I'm pretty sure I know where she's directing the conversation but I want to hear it straight from her.

"I want to offer you the position of Muggle Studies professor when Professor Lorund's contract runs out. I think you'd do well in the position and you've proved that you are capable of doing it. I do understand however that you do have a life of your own and that you are still quite young. There are things to do and opportunities that are still available. So I'm offering you the position but the choice is, and always will be, yours. If you decide further into the future that you would like to take me up on my offer, the job is yours, just send me an owl."

"Wow, I don't know what to say. I did enjoy teaching, but I may have to give you my answer later on. I'm still not quite sure what I want to do yet so I'll have to get back to you on that. Your offer is quite intriguing though, I will be considering it."

"That is all I ask Mr. Malfoy. I'll let you explore the rest of the fair now, good luck." She then smiles at me before leaving to go wander again.

I leave the corner we were in and finally reach the potioneering booth and take a look at the requirements for the program to make sure I have the right courses. I do. I really should as well since Snape helped me get the right ones as well as other helpful ones since he got his degree in Potioneering too.

The program is 5 years long followed by an optional specialization degree that adds another 4 years of research and studying. A total of 9 years that could be wasted if things don't work out. But if it works out, it could have so many benefits and be very useful. However if I took the Muggle Studies professorship, I can always work on my potioneering degree on the side for a longer period of time. Probably about 15 years.

Then there's the question of whether I should be looking to take over the family business when I graduate since that's what most Malfoys do when they are of age. My father taught me some of it when I was younger, but stopped when Voldemort came back because his priorities shifted. Maybe they've shifted yet again and I can continue learning about it. It would probably make the most amount of money and be a lot less time consuming from an education point of view. Most business degrees in the wizarding world are 3-4 years. But it could also be a little lonely and cold. I know many of the businessmen in the family are very ruthless and bitter and I'm not sure if I want to become like them.

Perhaps I can take the professorship, do my potioneering degree on the side, get tutored by my father for business and then when he gets too old take over the business. The nice thing is that my father still has about 30 years or more left in him if things go smoothly so I have quite a lot of time to do everything else. I just hope this doesn't become too ambitious and crazy. Which it probably is. Hermione must be rubbing off on me.

"Hey Draco, what are you thinking about doing after Hogwarts?" Says Hermione who just appeared right next to me. I laugh a little because her timing was perfect.

"Oh hello Hermione. You know, to be honest, I'm not all that sure. I have an idea of what I want to do but I need some more time to think about it."

"Yeah I'm in the same boat. It's so hard to choose something that you'll probably have to do for the rest of your life. Like what if you make the wrong choice or it isn't what you expected it to be? Especially since a lot of my choices require lots of extra schooling and I wouldn't be able to just pick up another career if one doesn't work."

"Definitely. What are you thinking of doing? I mean, what's your shortlist?" I ask her.

"Well I think that I'd like to do something involving some sort or risk. Being an Unspeakable interests me. Though we don't know a lot about what they do, they require almost every NEWT level course and you must have good marks in Defense Against the Dark Arts so I think that it could be quite interesting. Auror is another cool job but I'm not sure. While the war was a bit much, I did kind of like being able to help people on the front lines. I'm definitely capable of it so there isn't that much reason to not. But I'm also afraid of freezing up or panicking while doing it. I was also thinking of doing curse breaking. One of the Weasleys does it and I know he likes it quite a bit. I can even try and campaign a bit more for the rights of magical creatures since there is a lot of dealing them in that particular career. What about you?"

"Wow all three of those sound like good choices, I can see why choosing is hard. For me I've narrowed down my choices to getting a specialized degree in potioneering, following in my father's footsteps and running my family's company,... or accepting Headmistress McGonagall's offer of a Muggle Studies professorship. I really don't know what to choose. I think I've found a way to do all of them but it seems a little ambitious and complicated. Also, I mean what if I decide later on that I don't want to do one of them? I don't want to waste years of my life on something that I won't like later on."

"That's very true. I wish we didn't have to make these choices now. Can't we wait till we're older? I really don't want to leave Hogwarts and start working just yet." She says.

We both start to say something at the same time, stop at the same time, and then blush at the same time.

"You go first." I say.

"Ah, ever the gentleman. But no, you go first. I'm pretty sure I cut you off."

"No I definitely cut you off." I say.

"Fine I'll go first, but only because I know we'll just spend the whole afternoon bickering if I don't. So McGonagall offered you a professorship?! That's amazing! You totally deserve it though, you were amazing when we were teaching, so much more engaging than I was. I was so boring and just taught them facts. You knew how to make it interesting."

"Thanks. But it probably also had something to do with the fact that I'm a pureblood so I'm not used to the stuff like you are. For you it's ordinary. For me, it's amazing and really foreign. My natural curiosity helps make it more interesting. I'm sure if I taught the same thing in 5 years it wouldn't be nearly as interesting."

"I disagree. But I also know that once you have an opinion you don't usually change it so I'll leave you alone. Now what were you going to say before I interrupted you?" I give her a disapproving look before answering.

"You mean before I interrupted you."

"You just proved my point." I glare at her but continue.

"Sure. I'm not quite sure if I can remember… what were we talking about?"

"We were talking about not wanting to choose our careers and not growing up." She reminds me.

"That's right! I was going to say, thankfully we still have another two weeks before our applications are due. On the other hand, it's only two more weeks before the applications are due."

She groans. "Don't remind me. I've had that date noted in my calendar since fourth year. It's probably the date I've dreaded the most."

"Wow, don't you think that's a little excessive? Also how have you not chosen your career if you've had that much time to decide?" I say to her.

"I had way too much time to think and I didn't want to think about it that much. I can also be extremely indecisive. I don't think you know just how bad I can be."

"If that's not an accurate representation of indecision then I don't know what is." I say with a smirk.

She swats at my arm in defense and I cry out in pain as a joke.

"Stop being so annoying you little slimy ferret."

"I'm hurt, I thought we were on a first name basis, not teasing each other with annoying nicknames."

"Oh we are, but you'll always be the amazing bouncing ferret in my heart." She says with a sickly sweet smile.

I pout and huff, stewing a little bit.

"Stop being so immature. Your pride could do with some beating, it hasn't had any in a while. I must be going soft. Better catch up for the past few months."

"Oh really now? I seem to recall a certain someone here having very large beaver teeth before I helped." I say, grinning wickedly at her.

"You helping? My goodness, the world has definitely gone mad. I don't recall you helping Draco, I only remember you casting a hex to make them bigger."

"Oh good, back to first names. But if I hadn't hexed your teeth, you wouldn't have been able to make them smaller later on."

"Fine. But you were still the one who cast the hex."

"I never denied it."

We continue bickering and chatting till the fair is done and completely avoid talking about the future.

Once it's over, we all get dismissed early to go get ready before dinner.

Hermione and I walk up to our dorm, still chatting away and I just feel really happy. We haven't talked like this in ages. We haven't talked like this since a few months ago. It's almost like trying to start a relationship put a strain on what we had. This comes so much more naturally. The playful banter, the jokes and teasing, it's just so much more fun and happier.

Merlin I miss this. The best part is that we can tease each other but it isn't offensive. We both know each other's limits and we both know that it's all well intentioned, even if we haven't said that.

I'm pretty sure Hermione would agree, we're both just so much freer and there's no pressure to be romantic or whatever.

"Hey Hermione, perhaps it was a good idea to take a break. Maybe we needed a bit of time to recollect our thoughts and figure out what happened. It's nice to have a conversation like this."

"Yeah I know right? This is just carefree. I'm glad we're here again. Maybe we can try the relationship thing again a little later, but for now I think it would be nice to just work on being best friends again."

"It's a deal." I hold my hand out for her to shake and she takes it firmly. We both stare at each other really seriously for a few moments and then burst out laughing.

"What was that? It felt like I was closing a business deal!" Exclaims Hermione.

Snickering into my hand I reply, "That was what I was thinking of when I extended my hand to you. It just seemed like a funny thing to do."

"Well as much fun as this has been, we should probably head down for dinner before our friends start freaking out, or worse, Ron eats everything there and we don't get anything." She says.

"That's true." I say as I roll my eyes. "Let's go. I'm really craving some shepherd's pie right about now."

"At least Ron doesn't eat much of that. He does however eat a lot of the rotisserie chicken which I would really like to get a piece of."

"Oh well, not my problem." She then shoves me towards the portrait hole.

"It will be your problem if you don't hurry up! Now get out!"

"You don't have to be so violent you know. What if you just asked politely?"

"Draco, sweetie… would you please get out of the portrait now so I can eat my dinner!"

"You and I have very different definitions of 'asking nicely'."

We quickly walk down to the Great Hall, but Hermione keeps pestering me to walk faster. I just walk as slowly as possible while she pulls me along. I have to refrain from making a sarcastic comment about her messing up my hair and robes. She'd probably just shoot back with something about her hair being messier because of me. Which is probably true.

When we eventually get down to the Great Hall, I see that the Rotisserie chicken still has plenty of pieces left and I breathe a sigh of relief. While I wanted to annoy her, I had hoped that Ron wouldn't finish off all of it otherwise Hermione would probably come very close to actually killing me.

We take our seats and we all chat about the fair.

"So did you guys think of the fair?" Asks Ron.

"Well I thought that it was pretty good, though I don't think that I'll be choosing anything that was advertised there. I was planning on asking Newt Scamander if he would be able to teach me more about magizoology. He's the absolute best and I'm sure he'd love to help me find a Crumple-Horned Snorkack." Replies Luna with a very wistful expression.

I smile at her innocence and complete devotion to her dreams not matter how absurd.

"That sounds wonderful Luna!" Says Ginny.

Neville speaks up next and looks a little embarrassed. "Well.. um… Headmistress McGonagall offered me the chance to be a teaching assistant to Professor Sprout and then when she eventually retires, I'll take over as Professor."

"Wow, that's amazing Neville! I got asked by McGonagall as well to take over Muggle Studies." I say. Neville breathes out a sigh of relief.

"Oh good. I was worried that I'd be the only one offered a teaching position and that you'd all be offended. I'm glad I'm not the only one."

"Yeah, looks like we're in the same boat. Do you think you're going to accept?" I ask him.

"I'm not quite sure yet, I'd like to do some personal research on herbology before, but I guess practical lessons with Professor Sprout out of the classroom could be quite interesting and promising. I still have two weeks to decide at the minimum. She said I can take her up on the offer later if I want some more time to myself first."

"Yeah I still need to make up my mind as well."

"Wait you guys got professorships? That's amazing!" Exclaims Ginny.

"Yes Weaselette. We did. Or were you not listening to the entire conversation where we explained everything to you guys?"

"No need to be snarky ferret face. And here I thought I'd try to congratulate you two. Fine. Neville good job on the professorship. If Mr. I'm-Too-Amazing decides to get off his high horse can you tell him that's great? Thanks." She sasses back.

"Are all of you Gryffindors like this?" I ask. "Hermione and I had a fight involving name calling just now."

"Oh no, not all of us. I don't do that." Replies Neville.

"Yes, because you're not hot-tempered like the rest of them." Cuts in Blaise while cleaning his nails in a rather posh manner. The rest of us laugh at his behaviour and comment.

"Okay, well how about the rest of you?" Asks Hermione.

"Well I'm going to try to try out for the Holyhead Harpies. They're doing a try out at the beginning of summer to fill two spots that just opened up when their seeker and one of their chasers quit earlier this year." Replies Ginny

"I'm sure you'll get in with ease." Says Hermione.

"I second that." Adds Pansy. We all turn to her in surprise. "What? Just because I don't talk about it all the time and I don't play it doesn't mean I don't know anything about it or who's good. Remember that I've been friends with Draco and Blaise for ages, I go to all of the matches at school and at home with my family, and I'm currently dating Ron over here. Kind of hard for me to not pick up anything."

"So you were playing dumb at the last game! I knew it!" Ron practically shouts. Pansy then blushes scarlet and gives a nervous smile.

"Oops."

We all laugh at her and she just takes some pudding and ignores us.

"Well I thought that the business courses looked interesting." Says Blaise looking quite uninterested.

"Oh Blaise cut the act. It's like you're trying to blow us all off!" I say.

"Fine, but it's so nice to just sit back while all of you bicker."

"We aren- oh… I see what you did there Zabini." I glare at him in defeat.

"Just stew there why don't you, I feel a little cold and hungry right now, it would definitely hit the spot right now."

I swear everyone just knows how to be funny today. It's really weird. Maybe the job fair just made everyone really witty? Oh well.

"Pansy what are you thinking of doing?" Asks Hermione.

"Well actually I was thinking interior decorating. I just really like it."

"Oh bloody hell. She's good at it too! You should see what she did to the Slytherin dungeons this year, it's actually nice and cozy down there! I mean when we went down there during second year it was kind of muggy, but now it's really nice. Like five star hotel quality." Says Ron while shoving a piece of chicken into his mouth.

"Well I think it's great, Slytherins do deserve the best." Pansy replies primly.

"We really do, don't you agree Draco?" Blaise looks at me expectantly.

I smirk. "Of course we do."

"Hermione what are you going to do?" Asks Ron.

"Well I think I'm going to do either curse breaking or being an Unspeakable. I had a chat with one today and they don't have many requirements but you do have to be willing to not tell anyone about your work. Curse breaking is also really cool and you get to do a lot of history, rune reading, and spell casting. It's pretty interesting based on what Bill has told me. I could also campaign for the rights of magical creatures."

"That totally sounds like you 'Mione." Says Ron. I stiffen a bit when he calls her this, but I try to let it go since I know they aren't a romantically involved anymore and he's dating Pansy.

"Thanks. But you're the only one who hasn't said what they're going to do."

"Yeah. It's a bit complicated for me though. Since I've been to Azkaban and all of that. I spoke to Harry about it and he said if I want to get back on the force I'll have to start from the beginning again and go through training. I don't think I want to be an Auror anymore though. It's not quite what I thought it would be. I might try my hand at quidditch but I know I'm not that good. George though may need some help with the business. To be honest I have no idea."

"It's alright Ron. I'm sure you'll figure it out." Says Luna very kindly. He smiles at her in thanks and then we all fall into a bit of a silent period.

Dinner soon ends and we're all about to head our separate ways when Ginny gets our attention.

"Guys don't forget about our Quidditch game tomorrow! We have the pitch booked for noon till 3 so don't be late."

We all nod in confirmation and then disperse. Hermione and I walk up the familiar path to our dorms once again. Once we're in the room we just kind of crash on the couch not really wanting to do our homework since none of our assignments are due tomorrow. Well they better not be since it's a Saturday.

"Thank you Draco."

"What for?" I ask.

"For everything. I don't think I've said it enough times before. But I just want to say thank you for everything. For changing into the person you are now, for being patient, for being funny, for being nice, for being tolerant of my friends, for being my friend, for being there… I could go on. But thank you." She's lying on the couch, looking up at the ceiling, with tears in her eyes.

I smile and get up to go over to her. I sit next to her and hold her hand on her shoulder.

"You've said it plenty of time Hermione. And thank you for helping me become this person. I couldn't have done it without you."

I then grab a tissue and pass it to her. She takes it with a smile and wipes her eyes.

"Thank you."

* * *

Author's Note: Hi guys, thanks again for sticking with this fic. I really liked the banter in this chapter and it was really fun to write it. Hopefully I'll be able to increase the amount of humour in this story. What do you guys think of the story so far? Please review and give feedback, positive or negative, it all helps. Thanks for reading, I hope that you all have a good week. Till next time.

Also I know in the last chapter I said that chapter 51 takes place one week after 50, but I didn't specify exactly when that was. All 3 chapters take place in April of 2020. I have created a calendar of when these events take place and the link is in my profile.


	53. Flying, Precision, & Pressure

Disclaimer: I do not own the Harry Potter franchise, nor anything affiliated with it.

* * *

Hermione's POV

My friends and I are heading down to the Quidditch pitch, brooms in hand, with the wind blowing in our faces. I'm sure that if someone was walking in front of us and filming we'd look pretty epic, if it weren't for the fact that I'm trying to hide behind my broom and Ginny is practically dragging me.

The guys, well at least Draco, Blaise, and Ron, all decided that since they managed to teach Neville to fly relatively well, that they could teach Luna, Pansy and I. Ginny of course was totally on board with the idea. Luna and Pansy didn't really mind. I was not on board and I was not one bit impressed. Unfortunately, when you have 4 of your most stubborn friends trying to convince you to do something, you're aren't likely to get your way.

They managed to convince the Headmistress to let them borrow four extra brooms and a set of Quidditch balls, not much different from when they tried to teach Neville to fly last week, and here we are. On the way to the Quidditch Pitch. To try and learn how to fly. Yay.

To be fair I was a little hesitant at first about using the school brooms since in our first year they were less than reliable and quite troublesome. However they assured me that the school has replaced all of those brooms with newer, better brooms.

When we reach the pitch our four 'tutors', Draco, Ginny, Blaise, and Ron all line up in front of us and get us to put our brooms on the ground next to us. We go over the basic lessons we did in first year with slightly more success, but not that much more. We're all able to mount our brooms but both Neville and I are quite shaky on them.

"Okay now that you guys are on your brooms and are hovering a little bit, we're going to go over the different directions and try to get you guys some height." Says Draco in his teacher voice.

I guess this is what it's really like to be on the receiving end of his teaching. He definitely doesn't seem like our peer when he's doing that. He just seems a lot more confident and I have no wish at all to disobey him.

We all nod but I know both Neville and I are very hesitant about going anywhere right now.

"It might be easier if we split into our partner groups so we can go at the pace of our 'learners'." Adds Ginny.

"Sure." Says Draco. "Pansy, you're with Ron; Neville, you're with Blaise; Luna, you're with Ginny; Hermione, you're with me."

He remains fairly stoic the entire time and suddenly I'm nervous and a little worried about having to learn one on one. Even if we've mostly sorted things out between us, I still get a bit nervous around him since I do like him.

We separate into our pairs and each take a section of the pitch so we don't have any chance of crashing into each other.

"So, how are you doing so far?" Draco asks me.

"Besides the fact that you guys are making me do one of the few things that I didn't want to do ever?" I reply with a pointed look. He just gives a sheepish look in return. I sigh. "No it's alright. It's… it's good to try new things every now and then. And I should try flying, it's the only subject besides divination that I wasn't good at. Can't exactly be the brightest witch of my age if I can't figure out how to ride a broom, right?"

The corners of his mouth curve up in his classic smirk. "Well perhaps we shouldn't teach you how to fly then, I should at least be better than you at something, no?" I just scowl at him.

"So anyway, we better start working on your flying or you're going to have even more to catch up on." He says while mounting his broom. "Well go on, get on the broom. It's not going to bite you."

"I'm going to. In a minute. I think." I close my eyes and try to take a few deep, controlled, breaths. When I think that I've managed to suppress the butterflies in my stomach, I mount the broom and push off the ground a bit some I'm hovering.

"Okay, you're doing great so far. Remember, at least when you're learning, the basic movements are all about precision. Even when you get better and can play like the school Quidditch teams, precision is very important. Beyond a certain point you learn how to just feel the movements but you still have to be careful. At that point the precision is more about timing than measurements but it's still important." I nod and he smiles. "I figured it would make a little more sense to explain it you like that instead of using Quidditch terminology and player's terms."

"Definitely Even if I've spent most of my meals at Hogwarts listening to Ron and harry discuss Quidditch and all of the details and terms, I was usually reading so I didn't absorb all of the information." I think more about Draco just said and realize something. "It's kind of like Arithmancy right?" I ask.

"Yes, early Arithmancy when you deal with shapes and angles. Now let's work on getting you a bit higher now. Lean back a bit and point the tip of the broom a few degrees up."

I do as he says and I slowly inch up a little bit.

"That's good, now lean forward and point the end of the broom down a few degrees."

Again I follow his instructions and I drop back down to where I was earlier. Out of the corner of my eye I can see all of the rest of my friends getting more confident with their flying and they're all starting to play with each other in the sky. I guess I can't be excellent at everything, even I have things that other people are better at.

"You're doing great. Now lean to one side and fly up at the same time. I want you to make an arc to that post over there"

When I do as he asks, I notice that although it looks a little high it isn't actually too bad. I decide to experiment a little bit and tilt back down while still turning to complete the circle.

Draco is smiling at me when I turn to look at him.

"It looks like you're getting more comfortable on the broom now. Maybe practise a bit more with going up higher and being faster and more dynamic with your movements. I'm here to catch you if something goes wrong so don't worry."

"Thanks." I then take a deep breath and begin to fly around a bit more. I like the soft breeze blowing right now. I can see that the trees in the distance are swaying slightly which just makes me feel more relaxed. The birds are chirping in the background and their melodies seem sweeter than usual. The colours of the sky seem bright and dynamic. The grass seems softer and gentler now. All of it is just picturesque. The whole scene would actually be really nice and calming if I wasn't riding a broom.

After a while of me practising and Draco shadowing me slightly, the rest of the group call us over so we can start working on a game of Quidditch.

We all fly to the center of the pitch and make a circle. Once we've landed we discuss how we'll make the teams.

"Guys, so I was thinking about positions and I think that it would be best if we had Ron and Luna as Keepers, Ginny and Blaise as Chasers, Pansy and Draco as Beaters, and Neville and Hermione as Seekers." Says Blaise when we all gather together on our brooms.

"Cool. Sounds good to me." Say Ron. We all agree on the positions and then divide the teams.

"So on team one we'll have Ron, Ginny, Pansy, and Neville, and on team two we'll have Luna, Blaise, Draco, and Hermione." Says Pansy to confirm with everyone. Soon we're getting ready to take off and get the game going.

Just as we're about to start I realize that I won't be able to focus on flying the whole time since now I have to look for the snitch. Then I realize how much my teammates will be relying on me to catch the Snitch. As a Seeker I won't be doing a lot during the actual game but I do have to patrol and keep an eye out for the Snitch when it comes out. I also have to be fast and coordinated. That may be an issue.

We line up against each other and my breathing starts to get faster. I can feel myself getting a bit lightheaded already from the pressure. When they call the start of the game I start panicking a bit. What if I let my team down and don't catch it? I know they won't be that upset but I'll still feel guilty. I'm holding back my team now, especially since everyone else is already in the air and the game has moved a lot further up and down the pitch.

I push off the ground but I don't go very far since I'm still trying to regain focus.

Above me somewhere I can hear my friends laughing and cheering each other on. For some reason it reminds me of the dream I had a while back about flying and Bellatrix attacking me at the Quidditch pitch. I feel a funny sense of vertigo and try to blink away my dizziness.

I look down, and though I'm only a few feet off of the ground at this point, I feel really unsteady. The broom wobbles a little bit, mirroring my nerves and I try to lean forward a bit to go lower. Instead I lose my balance a bit and lean back to compensate. Suddenly I shoot up towards the sky.

I let out a shriek of fear and I see all of my friends start to freak out a bit when they notice what's going on. I start to climb higher, faster than I thought I could ever get. I'm pretty much vertical now, my legs hanging off, and I'm just hanging onto the handle with my hands. But as I get higher, my grip starts to weaken and I can't hold on any longer.

My fingers slip off and I start to plummet.

It feels like my heart just stops in that terrifying moment. I can hear the blood in my ears, thumping loudly against the whistling of the wind as I fall. I'm screaming as I fall but I'm not quite aware of it. I realize that I've strayed quite a distance away from my friends in the short distance of time that I was out of control. All of them except for Draco are stuck in a state of shock. He's on his broom and speeding towards me but I have a terrible feeling deep inside of me that he's going to be too late.

I turn in the air and see the ground coming towards me with so much speed. Just a few feet away from the ground once again, I can hear a final cackle from the Bellatrix in my head and a shout from Draco, before crumpling with the impact.

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Author's Note: A bit of a cliff hanger ;) Thanks for reading guys. Please review; any feedback is good since it'll help me fix mistakes or improve my writing. I hope that you guys have a great week. See you all next time!


	54. Panic, Parchment, & Insecurities

Disclaimer: I do not own the Harry Potter franchise, nor anything affiliated with it.

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Draco's POV

I see her shoot up, flying straight up, out of the corner of my eye and I fail to stop the bludger from clipping Blaise. I whirl around on my broom and realize that there's no way she'll regain control. I shoot a freezing charm at the bludgers since I thought it would be a good idea to bring my wand with me while flying today. Thankfully it works and I fly as fast as possible to her.

At the back of my mind I know that this is the fastest that I've ever flown before but that doesn't matter right now. All that I care about right now is getting Hermione back safely.

Even at the speed I'm flying at right now, I might be just a little too slow to reach her. She's a lot further away than I thought, and she's falling impossibly fast.

I can hear the rushing of wind in my ears and my heart is beating wildly in my chest. I'm so close now. I can hear her screams echoing; they bring me back to that night in the Manor. Her lying on floor in agony while I just stood and watched. I can't let her down now.

Just as I push a little more speed, and I reach out towards her, time slows down. I know what's going to happen before it does. I can see the fear in her eyes and I know that I've failed. In a last attempt, I reach out my hand towards her.

Suddenly time speeds up again and she falls out of range, her body hitting the ground with a sickening thud. At the speed I'm flying, and the direction that I'm headed in, I'm going to hit the ground at quite a high speed. I pull my broom up as far as possible and curl up to avoid any injuries. I fall off of my broom and roll, letting the ground absorb the force of my fall.

Once I've stopped moving and I've stabilized myself, regaining my balance, I practically sprint over to where Hermione lies. I can see the rest of our friends land their brooms a few feet away, rushing over to see what happened.

Kneeling in the dirt beside her, I can see that her left arm and her right leg are twisted at very unnatural angles. Her right arm is half pinned underneath her torso and she's sort of lying on her side. Her hair is splayed across her face and the ground, the sunlight above us somehow glancing off it in such a way to make her look beautiful in her broken state. At a first glance I can't tell if she's breathing or not, and my own becomes erratic and shaky. I lean forward and check her pulse; the soft beating of it scaring me a bit but filling me with relief at the same time. The sign of vitality comforts me. As I lean back, I can see a curl of her soft and golden hair flutter slightly, indicating that she's breathing.

I'm afraid to move her since I know she'll be in a very fragile state right now. I don't think I'd be able to handle it if I caused her any more harm.

By now, our friends have caught up and I hear an array of gasps and exclamations from them.

Seemingly from far away, I hear Ginny saying that she'll "go get Madam Pomfrey and McGonagall" but when I look up, I see that she's right next to me, crouching, with tears shining in her eyes and worry etched into her face.

No one says anything. We all just wait and stare. All I can see in my mind is the image of Hermione starting to fall, followed by the look of utter terror that was so plainly shown on her face, and finally a complete sense of failure and guilt. It just repeats endlessly.

Suddenly I'm snapped out of my reverie by a sharp slap to the face. At first I'm reminded of the time in our third year when she punched me, quite solidly, in the nose. But as my vision, and head clears, I see that this time it is Blaise who hit me, much to the shock of Neville, Ron, Luna, and Pansy. I rub my jaw and glare at him.

"What was that for, Blaise?" I snap; for some reason I'm just filled with fury.

"She isn't dead mate so stop moping. Let's try to do something useful instead."

His words make sense, she's just injured from what I could see… which makes me wonder how she's still alive.

"Wait, how come she isn't… dead?" Neville flinches at my words, but now that I'm thinking more critically I don't really notice, and ignore it. "Considering how far she fell, she shouldn't have survived it. She might as well have fallen from the top of the stands, if not higher."

Ron speaks up, though he's clearly shaken as well. "Well although we were a little further away than you, I was worried about you reaching her in time. So I cast a cushioning charm on the ground below her, just before she hit it. I guess it didn't work quite as well as I had hoped." I move quickly, before my brain can process what I'm doing.

I give Ron a quick, firm hug. "Thank you so much. Thank you for saving her." I'm almost choked up when I say this and he gives me a weak smile in return, his stress and fear plain on his face.

"I loved her too once, and she never stopped being one of my best friends despite what I've done. There isn't anything I wouldn't do for her."

"While the beginning bit doesn't make me feel very comfortable, I'm just a little too drained to care right now. It's your lucky day Weasley." I say with a bit of dry humour. Pansy snorts in amusement but none of us really feel it.

Right at that moment Ginny arrives back, with Madam Pomfrey and Headmistress McGonagall hot on her heels.

"Oh my!" Gasps Madam Pomfrey and she immediately bends down next to Hermione and begins to examine her.

When she's taken the scene in properly, McGonagall turns her stern but also worried look in my direction. I know she feels more than a little shocked by what she's seen. "Mr. Malfoy, what exactly happened her? Miss Weasley was not overly informative, or even coherent, when she came to fetch Poppy and I." She says, concern evident in her voice.

"Well we were playing Quidditch after teaching Neville, Hermione, Luna, And Pansy how to fly with a bit more confidence. Hermione was Seeker so she was off a little further from the group to look for Snitch. Next thing we knew, she had screamed and she shot up before falling off the broom and then… I tried to catch up and stop her fall but I wasn't… I wasn't... " I stop and take a deep breath before I start crying in front of my professor and my friends. "I wasn't fast enough. Ron managed to cast a cushioning charm which seems to have helped, but it was still quite a drop. I shouldn't have pushed so much. It's my fault. I knew she wasn't that comfortable yet, but I let my wants get in the way and cloud my judgement."

"No Draco stop." Says Ginny. "You weren't the only one. I pushed just as hard if not more. It's not just your fault. But we also need to focus on what happens next." I smile in gratitude at her before Madam Pomfrey interrupts.

"I agree Ms. Weasley. Which is why, Minerva, I'm going to need you to levitate Ms. Granger when I say. We have to be careful not to change her position since any excess movement could cause her a lot of harm and could worsen her injuries quite a bit. Mr. Malfoy and Ms. Weasley, could you please keep on eye on Minerva and myself while we levitate Ms. Granger? We'll need you to give us directions so we don't bump into anything."

"Ms. Parkinson, Mr. Zabini, and Mr. Weasley, could the two of you clear the way for us? We would like to avoid too many students seeing this and asking lots of questions." Adds the Headmistress. "Ms. Lovegood and Mr. Longbottom, could the two of you return the Quidditch equipment to Madam Hooch as well? Thank you."

Luna, Neville, Blaise, Pansy, and Ron all set upon their tasks and Ginny and I turn to Madam Pomfrey.

"On the count of three Minerva. One, two, three!" She says. Hermione's body is slowly lifted up and thankfully nothing moves.

Ginny and I guide the two women up to the hospital wing, and the whole journey is just extremely stressful for me. Madam Pomfrey still hasn't told us anything about her current state which is worrying me since I know that she must have some guesses as to Hermione's injuries already.

Once we're in the wing, we guide them to a bed in the back corner, similar to where the two of us recovered after the airport fiasco. It seems like a lifetime ago now. It's also near where I recovered after Ron attacked us. Now I have to worry about Hermione instead of her worrying about me. I almost wish we hadn't switched roles.

Madam Pomfrey has started rushing around like usual and she sends Ginny and I outside where we find everyone else waiting. They're huddled by the door and they seem eager to find out what's happened so far.

"How is she?" Asks Ron as soon as they notice us. His head shot up as soon as he saw we were here.

"We're not really sure. They got us to leave before they did anything."

"Oh okay." He looks quite disappointed and looks down at his hands, wringing them.

We all gather on the ground by the entrance and slowly we start to chat. We're not as energetic and crazy as usual, but we talk so we don't go crazy. Ron, Ginny, and I are substantially more subdued than usual but no one comments about it.

"Guys, it's a bit late. We should get lunch. Hermione wouldn't want us to starve while we wait. Though I mean she's also happily do that in our place. But you guys know how bossy she can be. It would be better to just eat so she doesn't lecture us on it when she wakes up." I laugh involuntarily. I miss her bossing me around. Wow. It hasn't even been a day yet and I'm already making it sound like she's dead. How on earth did she cope when I was in the Hospital Wing?

"Ginny's right. Let's go get some food quickly so we don't miss anything." I say. Slowly everyone agrees, but I can see Ron is extremely reluctant to leave.

"Hey Weasley, if you want to stay I'll bring some food for you. Anything in particular you want?"

He looks up and smiles. "Thanks Malfoy. I'll just have some chicken and mashed potatoes." I nod and make a note to get a larger portion of each for him since he eats a lot.

We head to the Great Hall and get a plate of food each before going back to the hospital wing. Just as we get there McGonagall comes out looking quite weary.

"Headmistress-"

"How's Herm-"

"What happen-"

"How is s-"

She holds up her hands and shushes all of us. She glares at us and we all become silent. None of us want to mess with her when she's cranky, not matter how worried we are about our friend. Her gaze softens a bit and puts down the wand she drew when we started crowding around her.

"She's resting now. You can all come back tomorrow. Madam Pomfrey can give you a better idea of what happened. That's all for today." When Ginny opens her mouth, McGonagall turns her sharp expression on her. "I said that's all. I'm rather tired right now so if you'll excuse me." She then walks past us.

As she walks past however, she quietly slips me a piece of paper. I slip it into a pocket in my robes before turning to the others.

"We should do as McGonagall says." I say to them. They all nod reluctantly but we all agree. It's better that we go anyway since most of us do still have homework to complete. "If you guys want, we can check on her tomorrow morning since it's Sunday." I say. I think it would be best so we can get everything finished tonight and we can look forward to tomorrow.

We decide to meet back here tomorrow right after breakfast, around 9. Once we all start leaving, I rush up to my dorm.

When I finally arrive and get through the portrait, I pull out the note that McGonagall passed me. It was very hastily written on a yellowed and crinkled scrap of parchment, though it could have easily been crinkled from being in my pocket and being passed.

Meet me as soon as possible at my office - H. M. MG.

I don't know why she wants to see me but it's already been a while and I shouldn't keep her waiting. I rush back out the portrait and hurry through the hallways yet again. I arrive breathlessly at the stairs and gasp out 'maps'. Heavy stone shifts on the ground as the griffin statue turns, revealing the stairs leading directly up to McGonagall's office.

I reach the top of the stairs and knock just as the door opens to McGonagall.

"Oh! There you are Mr. Malfoy. I was beginning to wonder if you really did get my note. Well come on in I guess, take a seat in front of my desk." She gestures to the chairs that I've frequented a number of times and I follow her in.

Now that I'm here, I feel quite nervous. I presume that she's called me here to talk about Hermione, but I don't know anything else besides that.

"I asked you here since you're the other head student and you two seem to be somewhat involved with each other." I interrupt her briefly.

"Actually Headmistress, we were but aren't anymore. We're just good friends now." She nods.

"Perhaps that is better. Romantic involvement between Head students doesn't always work very well in terms of completing their tasks and fulfilling their duties to the school and of their position. Now, as you know, Ms. Granger is in a stable condition. However she injured quite badly. Thankfully we were able to heal most of it through potions and spells, but it will take a while for her muscles to relax and for her internal organs to recover from that drop. She'll probably be a little tired and groggy for the next few days due to the potions we're making her take and her body will want her to rest so it can mend itself."

"So she's mostly okay then?" She smiles at me.

"Yes she is. I got a call from Madam Pomfrey earlier that Hermione is awake. Would you like to come with me to check up on her?"

At first I'm shocked. I didn't think that I'd get to see her today. I also didn't think that she'd be awake even if we were allowed to visit.

"Yes please. That would be great."

"In that case let's go." We both stand up and exit McGonagall's office. We walk down the griffin stairs and when we make it to the main hallway the statue shifts back into place, blocking the entrance.

We take the Grand staircase down to the hospital wing since it's the fastest and most straightforward route. When we eventually reach the first floor and then the hospital wing my feet have started to feel a little tired. When I eventually get to my room tonight, I'm going to go straight to bed and let my body rest.

McGonagall pushes open the large oak doors after knocking once and I follow her in.

The wing is illuminated by the small torches on the walls, but the flames aren't very large since it's only the afternoon outside right now and a little bit cloudy. There are two students on the cots closer to the door, each of them sporting a different set of rather nasty boils. They must have gotten into a fight.

As we get closer to Hermione, who like usual is near the back, I can hear Madam Pomfrey ranting to her. Hermione herself looks a little sheepish and tired but otherwise seems to be much better than earlier on the pitch.

"Really Ms. Granger. I expected more from you. If you and Mr. Malfoy keep this up you'll be rivalling Mr. Potter with the number of visits to my Hospital Wing in one school year. Honestly. It's like you students have nothing better to do than get yourselves hurt these days." Madam Pomfrey continues muttering to herself about how reckless we are and how she 'expected more from the Head students'.

I have the decency to blush as we're now next to her bed and Madam Pomfrey pauses what she's doing to glare at me.

When I finally muster the courage to look away I turn to Hermione.

"Hi." I say. Very awkwardly. Now that I'm here in front of her I don't know what to do. My mind is going blank and I can feel McGonagall and Madam Pomfrey staring at the two of us rather intently.

"Hi." She replies, looking just as awkward as myself.

"I'm sorry I couldn't reach you in time. I should have been paying more att-"

"Stop! Please Draco. Don't blame yourself. I should have known better than to push myself like that. If I really didn't want to do it I wouldn't have let you guys get that far. I was kind of curious to try flying. It is one of my goals to learn to fly. I guess today just isn't it." She looks down and stares a little sadly at her lap.

"We still shouldn't have pushed you like that though. I am sorry and you can't change that."

"Fine, but it's alright. I'm still here." She smiles at me and I feel like my insides are melting. I suddenly feel relief and pure happiness flood through me. Without thinking I lean forward and hug her as tightly as possible.

"Draco! Oh! Help... I can't... Breathe… Draco… stop…" When I register what she's saying and what I just did I immediately let go and step back. My cheeks heat up and I stare rather intently at my black school shoes.

"Sorry. That was a bit much. I shouldn't have done that. Great, and now I'm rambling and I should probably shut up now."

"It's fine Draco." Says Hermione rather exasperatedly.

I just continue blushing.

Madam Pomfrey and the Headmistress choose to leave at this point leaving Hermione and I in our embarrassment. Just as they leave Madam Pomfrey says that I can stay till 9:45, but a second later.

"So how are you feeling right now? Because surely you don't feel that great." I finally ask, in an attempt to change the topic.

She lets out a groan of frustration.

"I've been keeping my spirits up around Madam Pomfrey and the Headmistress because I don't want them to worry and I want to be out of here as soon as possible, but I feel terrible! The potions are disgusting, I can't do my homework because it's in my room, and even if I had it, Madam Pomfrey wouldn't let me work on it because I need to 'rest'. Right. Well she can't stop me from stressing. It's just so boring in here! How'd you survive in here last time?"

I laugh as she finishes ranting but she glares at me.

"I have no idea." I say truthfully.

"U-huh, very helpful." She comments dryly. "So what have you guys been up to? How have the others been"

"Most of them are doing okay but we all feel a little guilty about what happened, especially Weaslette. Weasley is very upset though. He saved you by the way." I say

"Oh." Is all she has to say. She does seem a bit surprised by this information about Weasley.

"Yeah, he actually saved you today." I say rather hesitantly.

"How?"

"He was flying slightly behind me like the other fast fliers. When I missed you, he saw it and tried to cast a cushioning charm. It didn't take full effect before you hit the ground, but it softened it enough for you to survive."

I can't help but feel insecure and jealous right now. I've been fighting these feelings off since she fell. Somehow I feel like Ron might come and steal her now that she's asked for a break. Even though Ron and Pansy are dating, I still feel threatened by him because, like he himself, he loved her once and she loved him too. No one can truly get over a crush. It doesn't work like that. You may be able to go back to being normal and casual around them, but there are always lingering feelings and doubts in your head. It's why I didn't want to tell her about Ron saving her, but I'd rather tell her first before someone else made him sound like more of a hero.

Looking back up at Hermione, I see her staring at me rather piercingly. I shrink a little bit in the intensity of her gaze but then it softens.

"Draco thank you for coming today. And thank you for trying to protect me. You tried as hard as you could in the situation." Her expression turns kind and she looks beautiful in this light; her hair loose and pulled over one shoulder, the curls framing her face, her eyes bright and happy, reflecting the flickering of the flames in the torches, and her smile making me feel warm but also really sad inside.

I smile back at her, trying to mirror her positivity, but it doesn't quite take hold.

"Um… it's 9:44, I uh. I should go." I say.

Her skin creases a bit and the light I saw just now fades a little bit.

"Oh. Okay" She says in a pleasant but polite tone of voice. "Goodnight Draco." Plain, simple, and completely the opposite of my bothersome emotions and the situation.

"Goodnight Hermione." I nod towards her and slowly turn to leave the hospital wing.

As I walk out into the fairly quiet corridor, I have sinking feeling that tonight is going to be a very long night.

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Author's Note: So I had a great idea for the last chapter and the epilogue, and I've written almost all of it. I also have rough idea of the direction I want these last few chapter to go, but I still have to work out details. Overall though, we're nearing the end of this story. Probably about another 15 chapters or so till our last chapter. Thanks for reading guys. I really appreciate that you guys are still sticking with this. Please review! Both 'good' and 'bad' reviews help so don't hold back. Have a great week guys, till next time!


	55. Return, Competition, & Handwriting

Disclaimer: I do not own the Harry Potter franchise, nor anything affiliated with it.

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Hermione's POV

I'm finally out and back to my classes, but now I have quite a few assignments to work on. Not too many, since I was ahead, but I still have a handful to work on and I'd like to be able to get back to where I was.

I've spent most of my free time in the library or shut up in my room, working on my projects, much to my friends' chagrin.

"Hermione!" I snap my head up to look at who called me and I see that it was Ginny. The rest of my friends are packing up their things while Ginny has packed up my books and the school work that I didn't need.

"Is lunch over already?" I ask while slowly lowering my essay onto the table.

"Yes! I've been trying to get your attention and tell you that for the past few minutes. If you don't hurry up you'll be late for your next class and I don't care if you need to finish that essay right now, it won't matter if you miss the class altogether!" I spring up halfway through her rant and take my bag from her, carefully rolling up my runes homework and placing it in inside.

"Sorry Gin, thanks for getting my stuff for me."

"What are friends for? Besides I can't let the Head Girl be late to her class now can I?" She replies with a smirk, though I can sense a bit of guilt behind her expression. All of my friends have been like this since the incident on Sunday, especially Ginny and Draco.

I roll my eyes in response and try to ignore her underlying expression. Walking rather briskly, I head over to charms.

I enter the class just a few moments before Ron and Pansy come rushing in. Draco waves me over and I take a seat next to him.

"Please try to be more punctual next time." Says Professor Flitwick in his slightly squeaky voice as we sit. I don't know if he's talking about just Ron and Pansy, or myself as well, but I still blush a little.

"Today we will be starting on Elemental charms, just for review. Could someone name one for me?"

My hand is up before he finishes speaking and I can sense Draco smirking beside me.

"Ms. Granger?"

"Aguamenti, the water-making charm. It, along with it's opposite charm, can also be classified as conjuration spells; an advanced form of transfiguration." Draco stifles a laugh beside me.

"Thank you. You are of course correct. 5 points to Gryffindor." I feel happy inside and a strong sense of achievement. It's been a while since I've been that eager to answer a question. After the war I didn't have as much energy like I used to and I didn't always participate like I used to in class. Now however, I've been bored in the hospital wing and I'm trying to catch up on my classwork, causing me to gain a bit more of my previous hunger for learning. It's nice to answer questions like this again.

"Mr. Malfoy?" I turn to see that Draco is also answering with one of the other charms.

"Incendio conjures a jet or orange and red flames, usually used to set something on fire. It can be modified to be larger and more powerful in the form of Incendio Duo and Incendio Tria. There is also speculation that you could create a blue variation though the incantation is not widely known."

"Excellent Mr. Malfoy. You covered a lot of information there. 5 points to Slytherin." Malfoy grins and I roll my eyes. Of course he's trying to outdo me. Technically I do know the incantation for a blue variation of Incendio, but I'm not telling the whole class what it is.

Professor Flitwick continues picking one last student to answer with the wind charm. Technically it doesn't conjure air, but rather directs it towards a certain target. There's another one that conjures certain elements but it's extremely difficult and falls more under the transfiguration category as opposed to charms.

"Now that we've finished reviewing the charms, I'm going to assign an essay to investigate one interesting piece of information or a variation of any of the elemental charms. It doesn't have to connect to all of them but it can if you want. I just need one interesting thing and explain it as best you can. It should be 3 to 5 feet long, so choose your fact wisely, and it'll be due next week on Wednesday, April 29th. You have 8 days including today to work on it so please use your time wisely. If you need any additional help, feel free to talk to me now or during lunch."

We all start working as soon as he is done. I reach into my purse and pull out a sheaf of parchment, a pot of ink, and a quill.

As I'm getting my materials I hear someone drawl next to me. "Looks like someone is back to being Miss-Know-It-All." I look up and see Draco leaning back on his chair with his arms crossed with a cheeky grin on his face.

I know what I'm going to write my essay on; bluebell charms. It's the blue variant of incendio and since Draco doesn't know it I might be able to outdo him on this essay.

I stifle a laugh and smile at the paper I've pulled out. It's been a while since I've been this competitive but if I want to get valedictorian this year, I need to start working harder. Draco is tough competition and my level of work hasn't quite been up to scratch, so if I want to get ahead I need to put more effort into my assignments and tests.

"Yes I am, all that time in the hospital wing made me reevaluate certain things and let me reflect a bit on this year." I reply matter-of-factly. His smile becomes a little strained and I can see the light fade a bit in his eyes at my comment. He quickly looks away to get started on his own essay.

I title my paper with a temporary acronym so that Draco can't steal my idea or know what I'm doing, and because this is only my first draft. I'll probably have another two drafts before actually writing my good copy.

A few minutes have passed before I hear Draco pipe up quietly.

"Hermione, do you know what you're doing for the essay? Or rather, do you have a topic?"

"I do. Why do you ask?" I reply.

"Oh, I was just wondering if we could discuss ideas but it sounds like you're okay." He says, sounds a little disappointed

"Having trouble?"

"Just a bit. I mean I could write about Fiendfyre since I know quite a bit about it, but it might be a little dark."

"Okay. Well I think that would be fine. We all know you have a… history, but most of the Hogwarts population is alright with you now. Besides, I'll vouch for you if you ever get arrested or they get upset with you."

"That makes me feel so much better." He replies while rolling his eyes, but I can see a bit of humour on his face again.

We go back to our essays for a bit, the scritch-scratching of the quills on parchment filling the room. I get about 2 feet of parchment written before the period ends and everyone starts packing up. I roll up my essay and add it to my growing pile of said items in my purse.

Draco is still packing up his stuff so I wait for him.

"Surely you can pack up faster than that, we'll be late Defense Against the Dark Arts!" I say admonishingly, but with a teasing smile on my face.

"I can, but we do still have time." He replies while carefully closing his ink pot and placing it in his bag.

He slings it over his shoulder and we both head to our next class.

Professor Lerwick is standing at the front of the class when we enter and take our seats. I look at the board and see that today we are learning how to perform a patronus charm. It's technically not a part of the curriculum but many of us can do it from Dumbledore's Army in fifth year.

"Attention class, today we will be learning how to perform the Patronus charm." The class starts murmuring and I hear lots of 'ooh's and 'ah's.

"Now it is my understanding that some of you know how to cast it, but it would be good for you to brush up on it. After the war we had, it may be harder to cast it now so I'd like everyone try it. For those of you who haven't cast it before, it does take time to learn so we will be spending today, tomorrow, and Friday working on it. Now can anyone tell me what the purpose of the Patronus charm is?"

This time Draco beats me for answering the question.

"Yes Mr. Malfoy?"

"The are several uses of the Patronus charm. One is to defend against Dementors and Lethifolds as it is the only charm or spell that works. Another is to send messages to others without need for an owl or other courier system. It can also be used to make people feel less lonely and to cheer them up, almost like having a pet if you can perform a corporeal one."

"Thank you. Now can the students who have already performed the patronus charm before raise their hands." I raise my hand and look around to see who else has. I didn't always pay attention to what the others did during our meetings since there were a few spells that I struggled with at first, like the Patronus charm.

I see Ron, Dean, Neville, Anthony, Michael, Padma, Terry, Ernie, and Hannah all raise their hands. The leaves the Slytherins and Zacharias. I forgot how many of us joined in fifth year. Zacharias also joined at first, but he deserted later on and never learnt the Patronus charm.

The students who haven't learnt it yet are all looking really awkward and some of them are blushing a bit in embarrassment. Professor Lerwick on the other hand looks very surprised at the number of students who can do the charm.

"I didn't expect that many of you have learnt it already but it's alright. Now I wanted you all to brush up on your patronus skills partially because it's very good for you mental health after the war. The process of performing the charm involves thinking of your happiest memory and using it to fuel the spell. It's a good exercise in thinking positively as well as the fact that you can learn what makes you truly happy. Once you've performed the charm as well, when it's still being sustained it can help you stay happier and make you feel more comfortable. I find it very relaxing to cast a patronus charm while I'm working on some more tedious work, late at night.

Now since some of you don't know what your happiest memory could be, I would like you all to spend a few minutes with a partner discussing things that have made you smile, things you really like, and your favourite memories. If possible, talk to a close friend since you'll probably know each other better and can discuss more in depth memories."

I turn to Draco and he turns to me. It seems like we've both decided to partner up. I'm a little curious to find out what Draco's patronus will be. We tried to work on it near the beginning of the year but it didn't quite work. We ran out of time and never had a chance to pick it up again.

"So do you have any ideas about a memory for your patronus?" I ask Draco.

"I'm not sure. The last time we did this my memory wasn't strong enough and that was one of the strongest I have. I'm not quite sure what to do with it." He laughs bitterly. "It's kind of hard to find a good memory when almost all of your life was shrouded in misery and discontentment. I have very few happy memories."

I feel a need to comfort him but I'm quite sure how.

"Draco, your life may not be the most pleasant, your childhood may not have been the most conducive to happy memories, but don't tell me that you haven't enjoyed yourself this year? Surely at some point, something really made you enjoy yourself and have fun."

He smiles a bit, with mirth this time instead of bitterness. "Yeah I guess I have."

"Good. Why don't you tell me about your best memories from this year. From there we can make a short list and try to cast it based on those." He nods and I let him take a moment to think. While he's doing that I pull out some parchment to jot down his memories.

"Well there was that time when you taught me how to use a computer, getting my own phone, the night I took you up to the astronomy tower and we had a picnic, the time when I woke up in the Hospital wing and tried to go over to you and fell on my face, relaxing with you in front of a movie and eating pastries, playing Monopoly, our makeshift Christmas dinner, the snowball fights we had, the New Years celebration, our date at the end of Winter break, flying on my broom after not being able to for almost a year, finding out that my father was proud of me, talking with Ron about what you guys were up to in our earlier school years, and chatting with you about careers during the career fair."

I struggle to keep up with him as he goes through all of this. I jot things down as fast as possible and my notes are quite messy for me.

"I think I got everything. You have a good list here. It covers a lot. There are a few minutes left of class today so I think maybe we should narrow this down and next class we can work on casting." I say as I finish scrawling down the last memory he mentioned.

"Okay. Can I see the list?" He asks.

"Sure." I pass it to him and I see his face go from neutral to complete shock.

"Are you sure you wrote this?" He practically demands. "I can just about read it. This isn't right. Who are you and what have you done with Hermione?"

"Oh come on, I can't even let my handwriting slip in front of you guys? Yes, my handwriting can be messy. I just don't usually let people see that." I glare at him and he just snickers. When he eventually calms down a bit, he turns back to the list.

"I think I can understand it. Okay. Let's see… well I can probably cut things that are more materialistic, like playing Monopoly and getting a phone. I'll have to think a little bit harder about the rest. When I've picked one I'll let you know."

"Alright then. I'm gonna work on picking one for myself. I have one already but it isn't as strong as it could be."

"What is it?"

I'm surprised. I didn't think that he'd ask me what my memory was. I'm a little embarrassed by it but I tell him anyway.

"Finding out that I was a witch and that I'd get to go to Hogwarts. That was a really happy experience for me and I don't think it'll ever lose it's meaning, but since then I've made better memories and been happier than that. There was a time back in fifth year during a DA meeting when we were working on the Reductor curse. We had partnered up while practising it and I was with Neville. He cast one and accidentally missed the target, almost hitting me but I ducked in time. Instead it hit our pile of pillows and feathers went everywhere. All of us were covered in feathers and we spent a very long time trying to clean ourselves up so we wouldn't get caught by your Inquisitorial Squad."

Draco laughs a little bit and I continue.

"This year especially I've had lots of fun. Teaching the class was a nice experience, organizing the balls were stressful but I enjoyed it, and hanging out with everyone has been amazing. While I wish Harry was here as well, I love the fact that I can just hang out with the lot of you."

I look at him and he smiles, the corners of his mouth lifting up and crinkelling his face a bit. "I agree. Especially since I never really had friends to hang out with when I was younger. You guys have really accepted us Slytherins and it's so strange to have the dynamic that we do."

We go back to working on our lists, Draco narrowing his down and me trying to fill it up. I've just finished writing a fourth one when Professor Lerwick gets our attention again.

"Students, there is about another 5 minutes till the end of class. If you haven't chosen your top three memories already, try to have them picked for tomorrow. You should also be trying to get your applications for your post-secondary pathway completed. They're due in about two weeks and we want to make sure that everyone is comfortable with it and that they're ready for it." Her calm and collected voice gets much more serious near the end of her tirade. We all nod and he turns back to his desk to sit down.

I carefully place my list inside my charms binder and then put away my spare stationary.

I look up and see that most of the class is milling about and chatting before we get dismissed. Professor Lerwick has sat back down and appears to be marking some assignments. Draco is putting his work away with a neutral expression.

"Draco…" I begin.

"Yes?" He replies, looking up from his bag.

"You know that I don't blame you for what happened right? I don't blame any of you. It was my choice to fly with you guys, you didn't force me to do anything." I can see guilt flood his expression and I almost regret bringing this up but I have to clear the air between us. "It was out of your control. I panicked and lost my bearings. You tried your best to save me but there wasn't enough time. Yes, Ron cast the charm to soften my fall, but he also didn't notice till later. You were the first to notice and the first to look out for me. So don't look at me with a guilty expression every time, I'm fine now and the past can't be changed."

He looks like he has something to add but I cut him off first. "Stop, let me put it to you this way. Remember when you got almost crippled this year? Remember how I blamed myself for that and the attack from Ron later on? Remember how upset you were that I felt guilty? Well this is the same situation but reversed."

"I guess." He replies but he still looks unconvinced. I sigh and give him a hard stare.

"Look, I don't blame you but I'm not wasting any more energy on this now. When you're ready to, move on." My gaze softens and I smile at him. He looks at me reluctantly and offers a weak smile in return.

"You guys can leave now!" Calls out Professor Lerwick and I get up.

"Now come on, let's go drop our bags off and get some food, I don't know about you but I'm starving." Draco appears a bit surprised as I grab his hand and lead us out of the classroom and into the hall. Unbeknownst to me, we both wear identical grins.

* * *

Author's Note: Thank you all for keeping up with this. I really like to hear feedback from you guys so please review. Have a great week, till next time.


	56. Tea, Catching Up, & Bookshelves

Disclaimer: I do not own the Harry Potter franchise, nor anything affiliated with it.

* * *

Draco's POV

I land carefully and calmly step out of the fireplace, onto the ancient rug of the manor's library. I brush a few specks of ash off of my robes and look at the innumerable volumes and scripts, held on the oak bookshelves. It has been almost 8 years since I've come here to read something. Most of the time I only come here, or rather I came here, to have tea with my mother.

We'd sit next to the window overlooking the garden. The sun was almost always shining through, making the white and gold tea cups stand out against the dark, rich, wooden table. I always had earl grey tea with one lump of sugar and a little bit of cream. My mother had camomile with two lumps of sugar. She'd invite me down once a week whenever I was at the manor for the holidays and we'd just chat. They were almost always slightly formal and impersonal, our ways of talking as aristocrats too well ingrained in us, but we both saw the meaning and value in having these chats. We were good at analysing each others words for the deeper meaning and reading the miniscule mannerisms.

I take a deep breath as I try to let the memories flow through me. With everything going on, I don't usually let myself dwell on the past, but sometimes, in private situations like this, I like to remember the good parts of my old life. There weren't many, that much is obvious even to me. However there were a few and I will always cherish them. I always have and always will.

A creak of the heavy doors to the library pull me out of my reverie. I turn to see my father walking in with his usual cane. He's dressed in robes similar to his old ones, a very crisp sense of fashion obvious even to the untrained eye. As I look deeper, I meet my father's eyes and see a strange kind of warmth to them.

It's still weird to me, to see that kind of happiness and light, in a pair of eyes that used to be so cold and angry. I guess that's why it's important that I visit him every now and then and try to repair the broken relationship we have.

"Hello Draco." He says as he reaches me. He stretches out an arm towards me and we both share a warm embrace. I haven't been hugged by him like this in a very long time.

"Hello father." I reply as we take a step back and let go.

"Shall we have a seat?" He inclines his head towards the window table and I nod, following over. I take my usual seat and he takes my mother's old seat.

The table is already set with tea and biscuits, Bipsy must have put them out just before I got here as they're still warm. Or perhaps she just used a warming charm on them.

I pour my father a cup of hot water and then I pour one for myself as he mixes in his tea leaves. I stir my tea leaves in and then add my usual sugar and cream. While I wait for my tea to cool a little bit, I take a jam filled biscuit and set it on my plate. Once we've both finished out tea preparation we begin to chat.

"So has work at the Ministry been?" I ask.

"It has been interesting to say the least. We've caught a decent amount of escaped Death Eaters and the list has diminished quite a bit. I've also had several cases involving the trade of dark artefacts. We managed to acquire several items that would have been extremely dangerous in… well anyone's hands really."

I nod. I didn't expect my father to be able to tell me even this much, but I do wish that I could hear a bit more about his activities these days.

"Have you been staying here at the manor or somewhere else? I heard from Potter that they moved yo u out from Azkaban already."

"Yes well, staying in Azkaban was taking it's toll, even with the short reprieves every now and then. I believe that they all think I died from malnutrition. I've been living at the manor for the last while but I may move closer to the ministry, there are some nice properties in wizarding London that could be quite convenient and make it easier to drop things when I'm on call."

"That's good, both for you and your work I guess." I reply politely.

"So how are your academics at Hogwarts going?" He asks me.

"Well I'm still competing with Hermione for top marks but I'm definitely within the top two students. It'll be down to us for valedictorian."

"That's excellent. I couldn't have asked for any better my son. She isn't called the brightest of her age for nothing." His eyes shine with pride and I feel kind of happy inside. It seems that validation is still important to me after all.

"I was wondering however, if we had any information in our library about Fiendfyre?" I gauge my father's expression and like I predicted, it darkens considerably.

"I know that you wouldn't ask me about this without a reason but I would like to clarify what this information is for?" He's studying me quite carefully and I feel a little uncomfortable.

"It's just for an essay in Charms. We're supposed to write about a certain branch of elemental charms. I was going to do mine on Fiendfyre since I can write about the negative effects, why it's considered dark magic, and why it's a risky charm even for adept dark wizards." When I first thought of my topic, I wanted to write this in honour of Crabbe. I want to warn against using it, even though technically it's only going to be read by Professor Flitwick. While I never really thought much about Crabbe's death, I think writing about it might lift a weight from my chest.

"I'm still a little concerned about your choice of topic, but I trust you to know what you're doing. The books on Dark magic like Fiendfyre are on the west wall of the library. It's alphabetized by author after being organized by topic. There won't be as many reference texts as I did move a lot of them to my office in the Ministry so that I can have them on hand."

"Thank you."

We fall into silence and I take a sip of my tea. The drink isn't scalding hot but the right temperature. The mix of the tea itself with the sugar and mild is perfect today. Almost like the mix of my father and myself. We seem to be getting along quite well at the moment.

"So you've adjusted to life with friends then?" My father says after a long period of silence.

"Yes. They're all wonderful. I wish I'd had friends when I was younger; I seem to have missed out on quite a lot." I say while smiling out the window. I try to imagine what it would look like if I'd had friends that I could have invited the manor. I try to imagine my younger self and my friends playing in the backyard. I try to hear the laughter and chatter that we would have made. I try to imagine my parents sitting here at this table, watching us in amusement, perhaps even annoyance. I try to image what it would have been like to have a normal childhood.

My mouth curls up in a smile and I let my imagination run free for the second time today. I can smell the free scent of the plants. I can hear the jokes we'd have made. I can feel my heavy footsteps on the stone pathway. I can feel my deep, ragged breaths tearing at my lungs. I can see the bright sunshine lighting up the whole scene.

My thoughts shift to playing hide and seek in the Manor. To playing wizarding chess in the library, rain slamming into the windows, plates of chocolate cookies, and mugs of hot cocoa. To reading in my room under the covers. All things that I used to do with Dobby. When I didn't have friends. I may not have had the best childhood, but Dobby was as good a friend as any and I wasn't entirely lacking in the social aspect.

I shake myself out of my inner thoughts and realize that my father is staring at me curiously.

"I'm sorry, I was just thinking." I explain with a slight smile still ghosting my expression.

"Well it's almost noon now, so I'd best be heading back to the office so Potter doesn't start to worry about where I am." My father then stands up and I follow him to walk him out.

We walk towards to the fireplace when I notice that he left his cloak at his seat. Drawing out my wand, I summon it.

"Accio cloak." I grab it as it flies towards me and pass it to my father.

"Thank you Draco. I had a nice chat with you today, good luck with your essay and your studies."

"I enjoyed our chat as well. Good luck with your work and stay safe." He nods and then pinches some floo powder, tossing it into the dying flames. It roars up towards the ceiling and he disappears in a puff of smoke.

A crack behind me alerts me of Bipsy's presence.

"Master Malfoy is gone now, sir?" She squeaks and I turn to face her.

"Yes Bipsy. Thank you for the refreshments, they were just as good as always." She beams at the praise and I make a mental note to give her bonus check when I'm done here.

"Bipsy lives only to serve and please her master."

"If you could clear the dishes and extra food that would be excellent."

"Of course master." She bows and then scurries off to the table.

Running a hand through my hair, I turn towards the back of the library, to the westernmost section of it. The shelves themselves get darker her and there's a lot less light. Not a very inconspicuous place to put the books but it does make it harder to find what you're looking for.

"Lumos." Using my wand to guide my search, I start looking through the shelves. There aren't any books specifically about Fiendfyre, but after a lot of scanning and guesses about certain books, I find three texts that have a decent amount of information on the subject. Using Their Power Against Them: How to Fight Back Against Witch Hunts and The Untamable Beast: Dark Flaming Curses appear to be good sources and they aren't illegal to posses.

Once I've collected my three books and made a note of where they came from, I head back to the fireplace. I leave the three of them on the chair next to it and take a walk to the kitchens. When I get there, I see Bipsy putting away the rest of the leftovers. She turns to me just as I walk in and she wipes her hands on her apron.

"Would Master like some snacks to bring back to Hogwarts? Bipsy has just finished wrapping a batch of sugar and butter cookies." She pulls a delicately wrapped basket and brings it over to me.

"I would Bipsy, thank you." I take the basket and pull out an envelope from my cloak. "And here is your bonus for today."

Bipsy carefully takes it and scurries over to a small drawer in the kitchen with a few of her personal items inside.

"Thank you Master, Bipsy is grateful to have such a generous and fair Master like you."

"You're welcome Bipsy, and I'm glad to have such a hard-working and organised house elf like you."

"Master is too kind." She replies while blushing a little bit.

"Well Bipsy, I'd best be off now. Have a good day!"

"Good day to you too Master."

I walk back to the library and pick up my three reference books. I still have to read through all of them tonight so that I can begin working on my essay tomorrow and be able to revise it on Tuesday. Seizing a handful of powder, I throw it into the flames and step forward.

"McGonagall's office!" I shout as I step forward and eventually land on her delicate Persian rug.

* * *

Author's Note: Thanks for reading! Please review and give me feedback, it makes me day to hear from you guys. Have a great week, till next time!


	57. Applications, Crumbs, & Patronuses

Disclaimer: I do not own the Harry Potter franchise, nor anything affiliated with it.

* * *

Hermione's POV

*crack crack crack*

I let out a sigh of relief while yawning. Nothing is more relaxing than relieving the stress from my back; the fall I had has really made my whole body tighter. A glance at my watch tells me that it's 7:45; early for me. However considering the fact that my elemental charms essay is due tomorrow and the job applications are due on Friday, it's good that I'm up earlier.

The soft hiss from the bathroom tells me that Draco is showering so I pull out my application and sit at my desk to go over it. I've filled most of it out but I still need to write the essay about myself and my experiences. Now's as good a time as any to write it, my head is pretty clear and I have time to kill.

 _My name is Hermione Granger and I'm a young witch with a hunger for knowledge._

 _I studied at Hogwarts School for Witchcraft and Wizardry where I got my OWLs in Astronomy, Charms, Defense Against Dark Arts, Herbology, History of Magic, Potions, Transfiguration, Arithmancy, Care of Magical Creatures and I'm currently in the process of acquiring my NEWTs in Ancient Runes, Muggle Studies, Potions, Transfiguration, Alchemy, Charms, Arithmancy, and Defense Against the Dark Arts._

 _I was a prefect for years 4-6 and Head Girl in our 8th year, added due to circumstances outside our control. In second year I created the Society for Preservation of Elvish Welfare which is focussed on protecting Elvish rights and campaigning for fair work. In fifth year I helped create and run a Defense Against the Dark Arts club to supplement our classroom learning._

 _I love reading; my favourite book has long been Hogwarts: A History. I enjoy organizing events and coordinating schedules. In my eighth year as Head Girl, I was in charge of planning events like our Halloween and Semi-formal dances, as well as leading the other prefects in their duties with the Head Boy, Draco Malfoy._

 _I taught Muggle Studies and created a series of lessons based on the curriculum, for first years all the way to eighth year, while we were short a teacher with the assistance of Mr. Malfoy._

 _I believe that I would be well suited to this position as I have plenty of experience in both the field and at a desk due to the war and my involvement with it. I have lots of knowledge in a variety of subjects as well as lots of experience in different sections of life._

As soon as I dot my last sentence, I hear a soft click and the sound of a door opening and closing. I place my feathered quill down on my desk and push my chair away from it to stand up. To stretch and release the muscles in my back that cramped while I was writing, I lean back and raise my arms above my head. I head to the bathroom and get ready so that I can wake up properly.

* * *

"Hey Draco, how's your essay for charms coming along?" He looks up from his breakfast and smiles at me after wiping his mouth with a napkin. He misses a small crumb on his nose however, and I choke a little on my cereal.

"My essay is going pretty well than- what's so funny?" By now I'm dissolving into hysterics. He's usually so precise and immaculately groomed so it's completely out of place. Ginny, who's sitting next to me, notices and starts to snicker. He begins to pout and I laugh even harder.

I point frantically at him and then my nose, trying to use gestures to communicate. However since my mouth is full of cereal and milk, I'm also trying to hide my face and get a napkin to wipe it.

"Hermione, what on Earth could possibly be so funny?"

"You've got food on your nose ferret face." Says Ron, his stuffed mouth making it hard to understand what he's saying.

Draco's cheeks redden and he hastily wipes the crumb off of his nose. He straightens up and carefully folds the now-used napkin, placing it by his plate.

"So how is your essay Hermione?"

"I'm almost finished my second full revision." I say.

"Blimey Hermione, how many more do you have?! Six?" Exclaims Ron.

"No, she has two more Weasel, shouldn't you know that by now?" Draco retorts.

"And you're sure you two aren't married yet?" I stiffen a little at Ron's comment.

"Well judging by the lack of a ring on my fourth finger, yes I'm pretty sure we're not." Says Draco, displaying his left hand for the table to see.

Some of the other nearby eighth year students snigger into their breakfast. Draco raises his eyebrows as if daring Ron to make another silly comment.

"You don't have to get so testy mate." He says, raising his hands in defense.

"I wasn't being 'testy' as you say, I was merely pointing out a fact." Draco then continues eating his breakfast, while the the table erupts in laughter. The only sign that he's aware of his surroundings and the ruckus he's caused, is a slight smirk on his face and the poise with which he eats his toast.

As we leave to hall to go to Defense, I walk next to Draco.

"Was it really necessary to challenge Ron like that?" I ask.

"Well the reaction of the table and the look on his face, in addition to the fact that I just really wanted to verbally spar with someone today, deems it worth the effort in my books." I laugh and he smiles back.

"I know the feeling. People can be very thick sometimes so it's nice to actually put them in their place."

"Oh my Hermione, are you saying that you may not be the perfect little goody-two shoes Gryffindor princess?" He covers his mouth with his hand in mock horror. "You know you sound quite Slytherin right now."

"Sod off." I say, rolling my eyes at him and batting his hand away.

Two passing fourth year Ravenclaws point to us and start whispering about our but I don't feel like reprimanding them for it.

We keep walking casually, a few minutes left before Defense starts, the golden light from the sunrise making me relax a bit. I can feel my head drifting towards his shoulder but I discreetly lean back the other way.

Draco doesn't seem to notice and for that I'm glad; it could have gotten very awkward if he did.

* * *

"Protego!" I focus on pushing my magic through my wand, holding up a strong barrier to Professor Lerwick's barrage of stunners. My shield lights up with streaks of spells and I struggle to not get distracted by them.

After a full minute of holding my shield, my focus begins to waver and so does my spell. She slowly lets off and then stops.

"Good work Ms. Granger! But remember to keep your chin up and follow through with your spell. You have very good technique and your wand work is very polished, but you need to relax a bit more and let the magic flow through you as opposed to forcing it out. It helps to extend your energy levels, especially in more challenging duels and battles." I nod and then walk over to rejoin the main group of students.

"Now who wants to try again?" All of my classmates look quite exhausted and no one steps forward. "That's alright, you guys did some great work today. I'm very impressed with your magical ability and endurance, a lot of the wizards I know wouldn't be able to perform as well as all of you. We have another 20 minutes left before this class ends, could you all practise casting your patronuses till then?"

We all form back into our Patronus partners and practise the charm. I've had much more practise since out first class so I can produce a fully corporeal patronus at will now. Draco has improved a lot, but he's still yet to produce more than a small silver wisp.

Draco pulls out his wand and screws his face up in concentration as he focuses on the memory.

"Expecto Patronum!" A burst of silver shoots out, before falling slowly to the dark, wooden floor boards. His shoulders sag a bit as he down at a desk, head bowed.

"It's been a week and I still can't do it right! Why is it so hard?" He exclaims, throwing his hands up in frustration.

Something occurs to me, something that professor Lorund just told only a few minutes earlier.

"Try relaxing when you cast it." Draco lifts his head as I try to communicate what I'm thinking. "Don't just think of your memory, immerse yourself in it. Play it back to yourself and experience what made you so happy. When you're relaxed enough, cast the spell. Let your happiness guide your Patronus."

"That makes sense." Draco gets up slowly and closes his eyes, his wand held loosely at his side. He takes a deep breath and releases it.

A smile slowly spreads across his face and he raises his hand. He opens his eyes and whispers the spell, gently performing the wand movement. Suddenly a giant snow leopard bursts forth, bounding up and around the two of us, settling back down on the floor next to Draco.

The leopard sits proudly, with dignity and grace. Draco reaches out to it and she cocks her head to the side before sniffing Draco's hand. When she's done sniffing she begins to rub against his leg, purring rather loudly. Draco's hesitant expression turns into a wide grin and he crouches down to get closer.

"Hermione! I did it." He whispers in wonder. Suddenly he shouts. "I did it! And she's so cute and warm."

They nuzzle against each other for another minute or so before Draco lets her face away. We both become acutely aware of the stares coming from our classmates, once she's gone and we both blush a little. Though at least I'm still standing, Draco is on the floor.

Professor Lerwick coughs to get everyone's attention and we turn to her.

"Right, so the bell will ring in about two minutes so you can all start packing your things up."

Our classmates reluctantly turn away but a few of them glance back every now and then. I help Draco up and brushes the non-existent dirt off of his pants.

"You did a really good job Draco, you held the charm for an impressive length of time considering that it was your first successful attempt at it." I say as he collects his belongings.

"Thanks, I didn't really know what animal to expect but I really like my snow leopard." He can barely keep the grin off of his face and after a while he stops trying to hide it. His excitement makes me happy too and soon we're both just grinning like idiots, though for different reasons.

Suddenly the bell rings and we head to our next class. A burst of warm between us grabs my attention and I see his patronus following him. I whisper an 'expecto patronum' of my own and my otter joins us. Murmurs of astonishment ripple and echo through the hallways but we continue on, walking confidently together.

* * *

Author's Note: Sorry for the later update! Happy New Year to all of you! I finally wrote the Patronus scene for Draco and now we know what animal his Patronus is. I don't know if you guys will agree with my animal choice but it took me a while to find an animal that I thought fitted. If you want to hear my reasoning, PM me and I can explain it.

Thanks for reading this, I can't wait to complete it and I'm sure you'll all be glad to stop waiting on my updates. Speaking of updates, I'm gonna stop having a regular updating schedule. It's not quite working for me. I'll just update when I finish a chapter and think that it's okay. I don't like not meeting deadlines so I"m not going to place one on myself anymore.

Please review, the feedback is very helpful! Thank you to everyone who's reviewed already. Have a great week, till next time!


	58. Twine, Essays, & Bodies of Water

Disclaimer: I do not own the Harry Potter franchise nor anything affiliated with it.

* * *

Draco's POV

The soft rustle of my parchment as I roll up my application essays is just loud enough to wake up Alister. He stretches his paws and arches his back before padding over to my desk and climbing up to sit on my coil of twine.

"Alister I need that!" He lazily licks his paw instead of moving.

I groan. Sometimes her can be such a bother but he's also really adorable.

I shove him off the twine and he has the nerve to glare at me. Somehow it's gotten tangled since I pulled it out just five minutes ago. After I finish untangling it I cut three small pieces to bind my essays. Being careful not to crush them, I place them in my messenger bag so that I can hand them in; Professor Flitwick will be collecting them during Charms.

I wonder how the others are doing for these essays. I'm sure Hermione has had hers finished for more than a week and the others probably finished theirs in the last two days or so. Ron probably finished his last night. Or maybe this morning in between grumbling about wanting to eat and get dressed.

I latch my bag shut and head to Charms. There are a few students wandering the halls but most of them are in the Great Hall, still finishing up their lunch. When I arrive at the classroom, Professor Flitwick is just walking in.

"Oh hello there Mr. Malfoy, is your application all ready?" He says while putting his keys away.

"Yes, thankfully." I reply.

"I'm sure you're glad to be rid of them. It's a rather arduous process, no?"

"For sure."

"Why don't you come on in so we aren't just talking in the middle of the hallway." He holds the door open for me and I step into his class.

I take a seat near the front as he continues preparing things for today's class.

"Have you given any thought to you end of year speech yet?" I'm only half listening to him when my brain processes the word 'speech'.

"Pardon me, I missed the beginning of that."

"Your valedictorian speech." He replies simply.

"My what?" I can barely keep the surprise from my voice.

"Oh, did McGonagall not tell you? Both the Head Boy and Girl must prepare an end of year speech for the graduation ceremony. You still have plenty of time to write it, of course, it's only the first of May. No need to worry. It doesn't have to be anything particularly formal or fancy either, just a few words to send you all off."

Upon seeing my expression he adds, "You'll be fine Mr. Malfoy, you have a very special way with people and you have a very unique set of experiences that could lend to a very good speech. Experiences that I think would be beneficial for us all to learn from."

"Uh, thanks professor."

He smiles kindly at me before going back to his work. Inside I'm panicking. I have just under two months to come up with a good speech and not a lot of free time. It's a good thing Professor Flitwick told me today, otherwise I'd have even less time to put it together. Something tells me though that Hermione has known about it all along and just assumed that I would know about it as well.

I pull out a notebook and begin a section titled, "Eighth Year Graduation Speech", before putting my pencil down and closing the book. There isn't really any time to start it and I don't feel like doing right now.

People start filling into class, just a few minutes to go before the bell rings. I pull my applications out and leave them very carefully placed on my desk. I notice a few students walk in, only to rush out in a panic, presumably because they forgot their applications. Just as the bell rings, they return out of breath, clutching rolls of parchment in their white-tipped fingers. I don't bother hiding my smile.

"I'll be coming around to collect your applications now. Please try not to worry too much over the next few weeks about getting accepted into your programs and positions. The next few years in particular, acceptance will definitely be the highest it's been since the last time Voldemort tried to take power." Professor Flitwick says as he walks around his desk to us.

When he reaches me, he reacts with surprise. "Two applications Mr. Malfoy?" Not even Hermione submitted two, though I wouldn't have been surprised if she had.

"I have a few options and not all of them are full time. There's also a backup in case I don't get accepted." I reply.

"Well I wish you the best of luck for both of them." He says as he adds my rolls to his rather large pile.

Once he walks away, I feel like a heavy weight has been lifted from my shoulders. At the same time though, I feel the anxiety about the results of my applications rise significantly. In an attempt to relax my mind and the whirlwind of thoughts in my head, I begin to quietly hum a song under my breath. Something to block out all the nose.

The first melody to come to mind is a song that I discovered last week, _Pushing on a Pull Door_ by For King and Country.

It's become a bit of an anthem for me.

 _If hope is what you're after  
_ _I can take it and turn it into rain  
_ _Your tears become laughter  
_ _I will catch them and turn them back again  
_ _Yeah I will catch them and twist them back again_

Hope, something I have more so these days than last year, but I still wish I had more.

 _When you're upside down,_  
 _Then you see it all_  
 _That you spend all your time_

 _Pushing on a pull door_

It's basically what I spent my life doing. Then with the war, my perspective flipped entirely. It's funny, because it's so easy to be stuck like that. Everyone has had a moment like that in their lives. When it comes down to it, everyone makes mistakes and often times the hardest problems just need a different perspective.

 _You made a plan_  
 _You think you're in control_  
 _Yeah you're flying_  
 _And you're way too high to fall_

I had my whole life planned as an heir to the Malfoy family fortune. My plans set in stone, I let the thoughts and perspectives of my father and his friends carve them. Then when the dust settled after the war I was faced with a future that couldn't ever be what I though it would be.

 _And hey man_  
 _Check around the corner_  
 _Because it's coming_  
 _Here's your wakeup call_  
 _Don't hear me coming?_  
 _I'm your wakeup call_

My wakeup call happened when I came back to Hogwarts. It took a while, but the continued efforts of Hermione, McGonagall, and all of my friends brought me out of a shell that I didn't even realize I was hiding in.

 _When you're upside down, then you see it all_  
 _Everything's the wrong way around but clearer than before_  
 _When you're upside down, then you see it all_  
 _That you spend all your time pushing on a pull door_

 _I will shake you_  
 _I will make your shattered dreams unwind_  
 _Because it's only when it comes to pieces_  
 _Only then this time increases_  
 _You will find the piece that you've been dying for_  
 _You'll realize that all this time_

 _You've been pushing on a pull door_  
 _You've been pushing on a pull door_

As I begin to hum the chorus again, Professor Flitwick calls for our attention.

I don't really hear what he's saying though, because suddenly I've realized what I should make my valedictorian speech about.

Discreetly, I pull out a piece of paper and jot down some ideas and topics. I realize what Professor Flitwick had been hinting at this the whole time; use my past and testimony to inspire the other students at Hogwarts. The kind of story that I can tell is relatable to a lot of people and can change to fit the experiences of others. The Slytherins in particular don't have many good role models, and I have an excellent opportunity to be one for them. I just need to figure out how to articulate it all properly.

I've just written a rough outline when Professor Flitwick finishes his instructions. I may not know what we're doing in class today, but I do know what I'm speaking about to my class at our graduation.

Everyone stands up and begins to pair off. I'm a little confused but thankfully Hermione walks over to me.

"You ready to try Undetectable Extension Charms?" She asks me, a grin on her face.

"... did we never learn them in class?" I ask, a little confused.

"Nope, They're part of the seventh year curriculum but you and I shouldn't have a problem with it. It's just like we practised in the hall but this time on a cup. Simple."

"Oh okay. That's easier than I thought."

"Do you want to clear off the desk while I grab our cups?"

"Sure." I reply.

I move everything onto the benches. When Hermione returns, I've sat down. I've considered using the charm before on my bag, like Hermione's done, but I think I might actually try it today after the lesson.

"Okay, so do you want me to go first or should we try it together?" She asks.

"How about together?"

"That sounds fine to me."

Hermione places the two cups on either end of the table and reminds me of the incantation and wand movements.

Together we raise our arms and cast the charm.

 _"Capacious extremis"_

We then grab our pitcher of water to start pouring it into the glasses.

"Should we do yours first?" Asks Hermione.

"If you want to." I reply.

She lifts the jug and carefully begins pouring. The cups are rather small so if the spell went wrong we don't want them to overflow as soon as we begin filling it. As the cup is being filled Professor Flitwick walks by.

"Marvellous job! Who's cup is this one?" He asks.

"Draco cast the charm on this one Professor." Replies Hermione with a smile.

"Thank you Ms. Granger, may I see yours as well?"

"Of course."

She then turns to fill her cup and like mine, it just keeps filling without overflowing.

"Excellent work, both of you. If you would like, for extra credit, could you write a joint essay about how to effectively cast the spell on a variety of objects and what some of the things you should look out for are? Feel free to use your previous experience in the essay. I know you two used it during the last few school events and I think that your knowledge on the subject would be quite useful and insightful for more advanced and curious students next year."

"Of course Professor, we'd love to!" Says Hermione, bubbling with excitement. I manage to turn my laughter into a cough without distracting Professor Flitwick. Of course she wants to write it.

"My dear, I admire your enthusiasm, but I haven't even told you the most exciting piece of information yet. Before I get there though, Mr. Malfoy, would you be interested in joining your fellow student on this essay?"

"I would be honoured to accept your proposal." I reply.

"Excellent. Well since you've both accepted I can now tell you that should your essay meet my standards, which I have no doubt it will, I am going to submit it on your behalf to the Wizarding International Charms Board as one that may be considered for a new academic journal. I must confess that I've never seen the charm used before on such a large area and I think that it could be quite useful for many in the wizarding community."

By the time professor Flitwick finishes talking, Hermione is practically buzzing with excitement.

"Thank you Professor, I'm not sure if Hermione is currently capable of communication at the but I'm sure she's delighted by your offer. When would you like it to be handed in?"

"Yes, Ms. Granger does appear to be quite excited. If you could submit it for me to review it in two weeks, I'll have enough time to look it over and suggest any revisions before submitting another 4 days after that."

"Alright, that sounds good. Thank you again for such an amazing opportunity."

"You're most welcome Mr. Malfoy and Ms. Granger. Now I must check on the rest of the class and their charms but you may both go to the library if you would prefer to begin your essay."

He then leaves and continues on to the next group.

"Draco, did we actually just get asked to write an essay for a Wizarding Research Journal?" Asks Hermione, still looking a little dazed.

I smirk at her. "Yes, we did, now should we head to the library and start working on it, or do you want another half hour to process this information?"

"Oh bugger off. Yes, let's go down."

We both grab our belongings and exit the classroom, to the confusion of the handful of students who were practising near the door.

When we get to the library, Madam Pince waves us in and explains that Professor Flitwick had already made her aware of what they were supposed to be doing.

"I've taken the liberty of collecting some books and journals that may pertain to your essay and writing you a slip to access the Restricted Section since I have no doubt that you would require at least one book from there." She says as she leads us over to a table in a quiet, back section of the library. There are several small stacks of books already there, organized by topic and relevance.

"Your access to the Restricted Section is limited to opening times of the library and only until your essay is due. After that if you would like to access it again you would have to produce another slip, signed by a teacher."

"Thank you Madam Pince." Says Hermione.

"Always a pleasure Ms. Granger, Mr. Malfoy." She replies with a hint of a smile before she turns stern again once more. "And remember, no eating food in here and keep you voices to a whisper."

I laugh internally; there's the Madam Pince we all know and love.

She leaves us alone and we both take a seat. Up close the stacks of books are even larger and I realize that we're going to have to sift through all of this for information relevant to our essay.

"Hermione, how long do we have again till this is due?"

"Huh? Oh! Two weeks from now I believe."

"Okay that's what I thought, and how are we completing all of this on top of our schoolwork and head student duties?" She looks at me like the answer is obvious.

"We create a reading schedule of course and we spend as much time as possible on this. If we can have all of our research gathered by next week, we'll have a week to write it and revise. It's not like this is independant, it's two of us working together to write an essay about something that we both know a lot about."

"Right okay, perhaps I should ask give the house elves a heads up that we will be requiring a lot of tea and snacks over the next few nights and Saturday afternoons?"

Hermione looks thoughtful for a moment. "Yes, I think so, and maybe tell them that we may require a few meals to be brought up to our quarters for a few evenings so we can work faster."

"Alright then, chai tea, blueberry crumble, and biscuits?"

"Perfect." She replies, going straight back to reading, a quill and parchment right next to her. Of course she's already started writing notes and cataloguing relevant information.

I step out into the hallway and head down to the kitchens. Since the hallway is fairly quiet it doesn't take very long at all. Once I walk in, the steam and heat from the room hits me full blast. One of the house elves notices and rushes over.

"How can Mopsy help Master today?"

"Hello there Mopsy, I was wondering if I might convey a message and request to the house elves with regards to snacks and food being sent up to the Head's quarters within the next two weeks?"

"Ah, Mopsy shall call Barty over to talk to Master." She bows her head and scurries off to find Barty.

He arrives within seconds with a small pop, right in front of me.

"Master, Mopsy tells me you require our services for the next week. How may we best serve Master?"

"Hello Barty, we were wondering if we might be able to order some chai tea, blueberry crumble, biscuits brought up to the head student dorm rooms every weeknight and Saturday afternoon and dinner brought up every other weeknight for the next two weeks?"

"Of course, Master and Madam have been very kind to the house elves here and give us many good challenges. Barty will make sure your requests are followed. If you have any other requests please let Barty know."

I smile to myself, the house elves are honestly so adorable and eager to please. Looking back, I don't know how I used to think that they were inferior beings.

"Thank you Barty, have a good day."

"If Master wishes it, Barty shall."

I have to bite my tongue to prevent myself from laughing, if Hermione were here she would either punch me in the face again or arrange a meeting with McGonagall to discuss what we we're doing to the poor things. Or perhaps both.

When I get back to the library, Hermione has already gone through more than half the books on the table; quite a feat considering there are at least 40 books there.

"Hermione, you do know that you can relax a bit, right?"

"Draco! You're back! Well see, I began looking through the first book and I found something that I never knew about these kinds of spells so I looked up that principle in another book and I've just been going from one book to the next, picking up all sorts of information as I'm going along. I can barely stop to make notes on all of it. Did you know, for example, that if one were cast the undetectable extension charm while under a full moon in front of a lake, the spell will extend the water magically so that it connects to the body of water on the opposite side of the world. It's a very complex and tiring spell, but wizards from the medieval age used to use it pretty much teleport from one end of the world to the other. It made it a lot easier to escape from witch burnings and similar activities because they could fake drowning and escape to the other side of the world, and no one would suspect a thing."

Her face is lit up entirely and I can see that she's very excited to make this discovery. Her expression reminds me of why I fell in love with her in the first place, her excitement, her energy, her enthusiasm, her love of research and information, it's all so Hermione. I wish she was still mine.

"Yeah so anyway, here's the list so far of what we could use for our essay and I have the references all written on this sheet so that it's easier to find the sections and list our sources at the end of the essay." She hands me the list and I begin to skim it, trying to listen and read at the same time.

"Hermione, class is going to end in about a minute, perhaps we should call it quits for now and return to this later?"

"Already? But I just start- oh wait, you're right. Oops. I guess I got carried away with the reading."

"That's okay Hermione, you had fun doing it so I think it's alright. Here, let's leave this on the table and we'll tell Madam Pince that we're done here today, unless you want to come back again tonight." I say.

"No it's alright, I didn't know we were going to be doing this today so I planned to finish off another essay and two assignments tonight. How about we meet again tomorrow after our last period? I think you have History of Magic and I have Ancient Studies. We can get dinner at the Great Hall and then head here to pick up a few books and then take our work back to the dorms. It'll make it easier to break the work up and it'll be quieter, or rather less busy."

"Sure, that sounds great."

"Alright then, I'll make a note of it."

By this point we've finished packing up and we head out into the hall to get to Defense Against the Dark Arts.

* * *

Author's Note: Again, sorry for the late updates, but it's just a few more chapters to go. Thank you all for sticking with me, and I hope that you all have a great week!

The incantation was actually taken from the Harry Potter Wikia site, I didn't translate or write it myself.


	59. Edits, Orbs, & Splashes

Disclaimer: I do not own the Harry Potter franchise, nor anything affiliated with it.

* * *

Hermione's POV

It may have been a week already, but I'm still ecstatic about the opportunity for us to publish the essay in a professional journal. I'm just a little bit worried about how it might turn out. Draco and I have been working tirelessly; Madam Pince actually had to wake us up in the library two nights ago because we fell asleep while writing it. I think she's a little worried about us since I found a bottle of sleeping draught and two small pillows at our table the next day.

Thankfully we haven't had any major assignment due recently. It's much more relaxed now than it was in November, though I guess we were teaching then on top of our studies.

I look over at Draco, his brow wrinkled in concentration as he's studying a particularly ancient looking scroll. He always looks so focused and I find all the little things he does funny and kind of cute to watch.

We're almost finished the essay now, just a few more supporting facts needed to back up our research and findings. Draco is looking those up while I'm looking over our draft and annotating it so that I can fully revise it with Draco once he's done tomorrow. We're both perfectionists so there are relatively few mistakes, however compared to our usual standard, there are a few major errors that probably happened due to our lack of sleep. One sentence in particular that I'm reading right now is quite messy and doesn't make any sense. Hopefully it wasn't too important because I might just remove it entirely.

"Hermione, do you have that book on Advanced Charms for Disorganized Professors lying around somewhere? I need to cross reference something in this scroll with it." Draco asks while stretching out his back.

He blinks a little as I pass him the book, appearing slightly confused.

"Draco are you okay?"

"Yeah, yeah I'm fine." He says, nonchalantly. I give him a pointed looks and his expression turns a little sheepish.

"Are you sure?"

Replying quietly, he says, "My eyes are just a little blurry, nothing much. It won't get in the way of the essay though."

"Draco!" I admonish. "You should have said something earlier! Bookmark your pages and put down your quill, we're going for a walk." My tone is firm but worried. It's quite clear to both of us that I'm relenting until he does what I tell him to.

He hesitates for a moment and then reluctantly stands up. "Fine, alright. I guess I could use a break."

"Excellent, I kind of need a walk as well." This time it's his turn to smirk at me and judge me for my choices. "Oh bugger off! Come on, I know a nice route to the lake."

We headed out of the library and into the hallway, narrowly missing a loud group of first years arguing about who the most loyal professor is.

"McGonagall for sure." Says Draco.

"Hmm?"

"The most loyal professor. Definitely McGonagall. She's fairly loyal too all of the students, though she's more partial to all you Gryffindors."

"Draco Malfoy, did you just say that McGonagall is the most loyal professor? Perhaps I am rubbing off on you!" I say, and he smiles slyly.

"Well, if Snape was still alive I would have picked him because of my own impartialities. Besides, she is the Headmistress." He reasons.

"Still, I didn't think that you would pick her." We're just walking past an open section of the hallway and I can see that my spot near the lake is in fact still empty.

"Why?" He asks, curiosity etched across his face.

I try to find the words, but upon trying to rationalize my thinking I realize that I've let my biases colour judgement. "Sorry, I guess it's because I let the stereotype of you Slytherins being extremely biased and judgmental cause me to be exactly the same."

"Ah, well I don't blame you. Just like I have to get over more than a decade of Pureblood dogma, you have to deal with your own. It's not easy."

"No kidding." I reply.

I lead him past a few portraits and tapestries on the first floor eventually stopping in front of one of my favourites; a painting of a pixie flying to the moon, leaving a trail of gold dust behind her. She's wearing a delicate periwinkle dress, reaching up but being pulled down by a thin, silver rope, wrapped around her ankle. It's a beautiful painting and it's one that I was fascinated with when I first discovered it on the way to the library in my third year.

"Hermione, why have we stopped?" Draco stares at me, confused, looking around briefly to see if he's missed something. Something in my gut compels me to reach towards the painting. It's something I've never felt before.

"Reach your hand out to the moon." I tell him, while pulling my hair into a loose ponytail and casting a quick Bubble-Head charm on both of us. I may be curious, but I'm also prepared and who knows where this might lead.

"Why, and what did you just cast?"

"Just trust me Draco, come on, on three." I secure my wand in my purse again.

"One." He sighs and reaches his hand with mine.

"Two."

"This is silly, we could be done by-"

"Three." I finish, cutting him off. I push his hand towards the moon and to our surprise, our hands go through before we're sucked in.

We arrive with a pop, floating in a dark void. A soft light illuminates the void, but it's impossible to figure out where it's coming from.

"Hermione! Where are we?" Draco whispers harshly, his voice echoing in the space around us.

I can feel my hair floating out despite having tied it up before we ended up here. It feels so light and warm, but there's a soft breeze as well.

"I… I don't know." I say, my tone quiet and confused.

"Well why did we come here then?" He asks exasperatedly.

"I had a weird gut feeling that we should, I didn't really question it."

"Well that's just great, we still have to finish the essay and go over everything!"

"You did agree to go on a walk and take a break." I say sheepishly.

Draco face palms and sighs into his hands. "I assumed," a pause as he rubs his temples, "that we wouldn't be taking a walk through a painting!"

"I think it acted like a portkey. It's never happened to me before, this is new. Somehow I think that we've been transported into the painting, which is strange since the only thing that's the same between the painting and where we are now is this void."

"Hmm, you're probably ri-" Suddenly he trails off and looks at something behind me.

"What are you looking a-" I turn to see what he's looking at and I see what caught his attention. Just behind me is a small, golden, glowing orb. I reach out to touch it.

"Hermione wait, don't to-"

My finger connects with it and it bursts apart in a puff of luminescent gold sparks. I feel a cold gust of air as it breaks apart and suddenly it's no longer as warm as it was.

"Why is it so cold?" Asks Draco.

"I don't know, something about that doesn't seem right to me. Oh! Do you feel that? It's… wet!"

"You're right! It's also getting a lot harder to move, I feel more sluggish than earlier."

A wide, soft beam of light appears above us and I realize that it must be coming from the moon.

"Come on Draco, follow me up, we have to swim up to the surface." I grab his hand and pull him with me to the surface. It's getting colder by the second and I can feel it seeping into my bones.

The closer we get to the light, the harder it is to keep moving. I struggle to kick and pull myself up, my lungs begin to burn, and my head starts to pound. My single armed strokes become weaker and weaker and it feels like I'm no longer moving anywhere. In desperation I look back at Draco, his hand clasped tightly in my own. He looks at me with a sad expression and points to something thin wrapped around his ankle. A thin silver chain, like in the painting.

I gasp and somehow push myself down to his foot. I pull my wand out of my pocket and whisper a prayer before firing a carefully placed _reducto_ at it. I'm not leaving him behind and I'm not letting this stop us from getting out of here. Something is off and we need to figure out what's going on. I need Draco alive for that.

The chain snaps and falls away in the water and regrasp Draco's hand. We lock eyes and kick off at the same time, reaching for the surface. The Bubble Head charm I placed on the two of us begin to disintegrate so we push even harder. I take one last gulp of air and I can tell we're almost there. With one final kick, we break through the surface and take big gulps of fresh air.

I look around frantically and manage to spot a far off island. We swim rather sluggishly to shore and drag ourselves up onto a rock beach. As soon as we're far enough from the lapping waters we collapse onto the ground, staring blankly up at the branches of the willow tree that covers most of the island.

A cluster of fireflies hovers over the lake, near where we crawled to shore, buzzing quietly. Just above the soft lapping of water against rock, I can hear the faint hooting of an owl. The leaves of the willow rustle a little from the cool breeze, contrasting with our shivering and ragged breathing. The smart voice in my head tells me that we should try to dry off so we don't get sick or get hypothermia, but right now I think we just need to catch our breath.

Finally I will myself to push up into a sitting position and steady my heart. I curl into a ball to try and conserve my body heat while I formulate some proper thoughts. A simple Hot-Air charm should do the trick for drying our clothes, but a fire would be good to warm us up a little.

I pull out my wand and give a complicated wave producing a stream of hot air, I point it at Draco and dry off his clothes. He startles and bolts upright, causing me to jerk my wand a little bit from shock.

"Hermione! You've brushed all my hair into my face!" He complains and I laugh despite our strange circumstances.

"Well at least you're dry now, and you're welcome." I reply primly, with a mock-serious expression. He glares at me instead.

I point my wand to myself and dry my own clothes off. Once I'm satisfied, I walk over to the base of the willow and find some relatively old branches.

I gather them in a small pile near Draco and ignite it with a quick Incendio, sending an orange fireball from the end of my wand. The twigs burn steadily and thankfully don't produce any smoke, but I gather a little more firewood so that we can keep it going overnight.

"I guess we're making camp here for the night?" Asks Draco as he walks over. His weary frame flops onto the edge of the grass near the fire, flames illuminating his silvery eyes.

"I think so." I pause a little to gather the courage to pose a question to him. "Did anything about this whole situation strike you as odd?" He barks a somewhat bitter laugh.

"Odd? You mean the part about us falling through a painting or the part where we ended up floating in a void? Or perhaps you mean the part where we almost got dragged to our deaths in the middle of the lake? I don't know Hermione! I'm too tired for this right now." He huffs and turns around, his back facing me.

I sigh quietly and walk a little bit away from our makeshift camp. I refuse to believe that all of this is my fault. I may have listened to my intuition despite what my brain told me was right, but I didn't know that this would happen. This may turn out to be something good for us, or it may turn out to be a disaster, but I don't think that this would have happened to us without a reason. Hogwarts has always held many secrets, but many of them are for the benefit of the students.

It doesn't matter right now anyway, sleep is important if I want to be able to think properly tomorrow. Draco was right in that sense at least.

A nearby fallen branch catches my attention; thick, leafy leaves cover it and look like they would make a somewhat comfy pillow. I pick a few thicker segments of it and carry it back to the fire to make a makeshift sleeping arrangement.

I toss a few thicker pieces of wood onto the fire and then settle down on my pile of willow branches. While looking up at the leaves above me, illuminated by our fire, I drift off to a dreamless sleep.

* * *

I wake up to the morning birds chirping and a crick in my neck. I look over and see that Draco has already left, he probably woke up fairly early and took a walk. The fire's died out overnight so I'll have to restart it if we want to make some breakfast.

The branches stick to my face as I sit up and I carefully peel them off. No doubt I have marks on my skin now because of it. I walk over to the water, which is surprisingly crystalline, and wash my face with the water. In my reflection I can see that my hair actually looks like a birds nest, my curls all frizzy and matted with leaves and twigs sticking out of it. Wonderful.

"Merlin's scraggly beard Hermione, what on Earth happened to you?" Asks Draco, humour colouring his voice, from behind me. I turn to face him with a glare and I can see that he's managed to catch a fish.

"Good morning to you too." I reply sourly.

"Well I managed to catch a fish, magically of course." Of course, we wouldn't want the precious pureblood to dirty his hands with a fish, I almost reply, but I bite it back just in time. I don't know where that thought came from, must be a little more crabby than I thought.

"If we start the fire going again, we can cook it and have it for breakfast." Draco nods in agreement and begins to set some branches up in the fire pit we made last night. Thankfully he hasn't noticed my topsy turvy mood.

I bring some more wood and he ignites the pile.

"Hermione, how are we going to prepare the fish? I don't think I know how to clean it and prepare it."

"I vaguely remember reading a book about hunting from last summer after the war. The instructions on how to gut a fish are a little fuzzy but I think I can figure it out. I don't suppose you have a knife? My purse didn't follow us through the painting, just my wand."

"It was the same for me. I think I know a precise cutting spell that could work, I learnt it while I was… while I was with the Death Eaters." I can sense his hesitation and the shame in his words.

"Draco, it's fine. Perhaps you were meant to learn it for such a time as this, one where we're trying to survive and have breakfast." He smiles a little at my joke. "I'll guide you through the process."

We settle around the fish and I think back to what I read. Carefully, I take him step by step through the gutting process. We only mess up one part. Unfortunately it resulted in fish guts being spewed all over us.

"Okay, perhaps give me the instructions a little slower this time." Draco says after he finishes cleaning himself of the smelly insides on his face.

"Sounds good." I reply, blushing a little.

We manage to have it all ready in about five minutes or so and I transfigure a large leaf into a makeshift tray to cook the fish in. We lay it over the fire and let it sear on both sides. Draco watches it while I find us a few herbs and fungi to season it with and make it into more of a substantial meal.

Once everything has finished cooking, we settle down near the water and eat our meal in silence. We wash our hands in the lake and I transfigure our trays back into leaves and tuck them into my pocket for later use, just in case.

"So where do you think we are?" I ask Draco when we've finished cleaning up.

"I have no idea, it seems reminiscent of the area that Hogwarts sits on, but just barely. There's something strange about it but I can't put my finger on it. Something about the magic in the air is just… strange." He stares out upon the lake as he explains his thoughts. It obviously frustrates him and I can understand what he means.

"Well perhaps this isn't real. Perhaps this is just a hidden pocket within our world. Or perhaps this is a figment of our imaginations."

"I don't think it's a dream though." Says Draco absentmindedly.

"What makes you say that?" I ask, looking right at him.

"If it was,'' he grins mischievously, "I wouldn't be able to do this!" and he splashes a wave of water at me. I let out a very undignified scream of shock as I'm soaked by some absolutely frigid water. I feel a little stupid with my mouth open in a silent scream, hopping around, and trying the wipe the water from my face like I'm doging cornish pixies.

Once I've got the water and my hair out of my face, I fumble for my wand and shoot a well placed Aguamenti at him, shoving him back a few paces towards the center of the island and the trunk of the huge willow.

"Woah, be careful Hermione, you almost messed up my hair!" He yells at me.

"Your hair?!" I shout back. "You want to complain about your hair?"

"I guess that's fair." He replies before sending me flying back into the lake with a jinx. I fire a jelly-legs jinx at him and he falls on his face, giving me a few moments to stand up again.

"Merlin I've missed this." I say as I walk over to him, my wand ready to shield myself if I need to.

"I totally agree." Says Draco as he flops onto his back. "However I think I'm too tired to keep this up much longer. Truce?" He reaches his hand up and I shake it only to be shocked with a small electrical jolt. I glare at him and his eyes soften in mock sympathy. "Revenge for the beginning of the year and the electrical outlet."

"That, my dear Draco, was entirely your fault." I flop onto the beach next to him and we lie under the shade of the tree. Though I wouldn't want to admit it, I'm a little tired too. Neither of us have been getting enough sleep.

We don't speak for a while, just listening to the sounds around us, quite similar to last night when we got here on this beach for the first time. As time passes, I become more aware of the sun moving through the sky and the day slipping by us. Something in the back of my mind, a voice tells me that we should be trying to find a way back to Hogwarts, that we still have work to finish, school to graduate, and friends to get back to.

As I mull over these thoughts, I hear Draco's breathing shift a little and become more even. Soon I realize that he's fallen asleep. I gently nudge him a little to wake up and he sits up to clear his mind.

"We really should be trying to find a way back." He says once he's rubbed his eyes a little.

"We should, perhaps if we explore the island a little or even go for a swim."

"Yeah in my dream just now, I was panicking because we managed to get back to Hogwarts but we were two years too late and I missed my valedictorian speech which I had been really excited and prepared for.

"Wait you're valedictorian this year? That's awesome!" I say. I think it'll be good for him.

"Yeah… I am…, aren't you valedictorian as well? That's what Professor Flitwick said anyway." He replies.

"You're kidding. Graduation is in three weeks Draco! I have three weeks to study for NEWTs, finish this essay with you, and write a speech for it? I'm dead, I'm so completely dead."

"Don't worry, I'm sure Potter would do a good funeral." I glare at him and punch his shoulder.

"Ow! Now I'm definitely awake." He exclaims before his eyes widen and he quickly hides his face with his hands. "And stay away from my face!"

"Why? Afraid that I'll break it again?" I reply with a smirk.

"Yes actually, I'd rather not look deformed when we eventually get back again."

"Fine, I'll wait till later then." He just pouts and edges further away from me.

We sit for a little more before my stomach growls a little.

"We should probably go find another fish we can eat for lunch." Says Draco. "We can go back to where I caught that fish earlier, it's just on the other side of the willow and a little bit into the lake."

He guides us over and we wade through the water, splitting up to cover more area. I spot a large fish a little further in and call Draco over so that we can catch it; I'm really hungry now.

"Draco! I found one here!" He doesn't respond and I turn to see him staring curiously at something in the water. "What are you looking at?"

He still doesn't respond and I walk over as carefully as possible. Once I'm closer, I can see a faintly glowing orb, similar to the gold orb I found last night. It flickers lightly, barely producing any light. Draco begins to reach out a hand towards it and I try to move faster and stop him. I'm almost there when he touches it and I jump and try to knock him away just as the same burst of air is expelled and I feel a familiar twist around my navel.

We arrive with a solid thud on the floor of the hallway with all of our bags. Thankfully no students or teachers are around, otherwise we would have looked rather odd sprawled on the floor and slightly wet. I check my watch, which is now on my wrist even though it didn't go through the painting earlier, and see that it's still the same day that we left, just a few hours later.

"Draco, it's only been a few hours, we can still go back and finish the essay if you want." I tell him as he rubs his head.

"Do we really want to do that though?" He whines.

"We just need to finish the last few bits so that we can proofread tomorrow and hand the essay in on Monday for Professor Flitwick to look over."

"Yes, but unlike you, I have to sift through a bunch of the books you picked to find more stuff to put into the essay. You get to just catch mistakes we've already made." Good point.

"We should still try and finish some tonight. Besides, Madam Pince is going to be closing up the library soon anyway." He sighs and I help pull him up to standing.

"Alright then, let's hurry up." So we trudge up to the library once again to get back to work, neither of us actually wanting to go, and both of us secretly wishing we could be back through the painting.

* * *

Author's Note: Again, sorry for the lack of updates. I think that I'm going to be publishing a one-shot or two-shot in the next two or three weeks as well so keep an eye out for that as well! Thank you all for your unwavering support! Please review and feel free to give me some feedback on this. I tried experimenting a bit with a fantasy theme with this chapter but I'm not sure how well I did. Looking back on everything that's happened so far, this story feels like just a bunch of experiments and crazy ideas loosely connected by one theme! However in the next one I'm planning I'll have a more cohesive and genre specific plot. Have a great week you guys, till next time!


	60. Rehearsals, Pasties, & Futures

Disclaimer: I do not own the Harry Potter franchise, nor anything affiliated with it.

* * *

Draco's POV

Outside the castle, on my way to breakfast this morning, I could hear the birds chirping outside and the owls carrying this morning's post and papers flocking into the owlery. The sun shone throughout the hallways and seemed to illuminate even the darkest alcoves and hiding spots. A Saturday as sunny and cheerful as today should have been spent outside, enjoying the warm weather. Instead, all of the seventh and eighth year students were gathered in the Great Hall, the usual tables replaced with 250 chairs.

In light of the fact that this year's graduating class was much larger than usual, and that it was now early June, the teacher's scheduled a rehearsal to go over the ceremony structure at the end of the year. The idea was to prepare the students before we fully hit exams. Currently though, the graduation rehearsal is taking much longer than expected and everyone is getting restless. Very few of teaching staff who have experience organizing these ceremonies were actually involved in the planning of graduations at Hogwarts, it seems Dumbledore played a larger role in ensuring they ran smoothly than people expected. Currently Headmistress McGonagall is trying to locate the caps for the students to wear, but we may just receive them at the graduation itself.

Since most of us are not seated near our friends, but rather in alphabetical order by last name, many of the students have resorted to shouting across the hall to communicate properly or enchanting paper airplanes to carry messages. The planes have resulted in quite a few minor injuries, much to Hermione's irritation.

Of my own friends, Neville and Luna, and Ginny and Ron are seated next to each other while everyone else is spread out. Hermione and I are seated next to each other since we're Head Students, the prefects next to us. After getting everyone to quieten two or three times, Hermione finally gave up and is now just editing her speech.

"Hermione, surely you don't need to cross out and rewrite that much." I comment.

"Oh really now? Well surely you aren't completely satisfied with your speech considering I never see you working on it." She fired back teasingly.

"Well, it's not like you see me all of the time. Besides, I have a speech outline but I haven't written it out word for word. I want to take it where I want to take it on the day of and adjust it as needed."

"No fair," she pouts, "I don't understand how guys can just wing their presentations. I have to plan out everything, then write it out fully, and rewrite it at least four times."

Suddenly we both kind of stiffen as we realize that this is how we used to talk when we were dating, lots of teasing banter. We both look in different directions and the awkward silence seems to stretch on for miles. Thankfully she returned to her speech after what must have been a few moments and I tried to run mine in my head.

I don't want to perform my actual speech today, I'd rather wait till the actual graduation before I do so. However, for the purpose of the rehearsal, I still need to present something, so I have a filler speech prepared. Something short and cheesy, the kind of thing that appeals to teachers and parents. That's not to say my actual speech isn't cheesy, or that parents and teachers will hate it, but instead it applies more so to the students in my class.

A louder than normal, throaty cough gets our attention as Professor Flitwick takes the stage. "Students," he begins, as he adjusts his tight collar to deal with the heat in the room, "on behalf of all of the teachers, I would like to first of all thank you for your cooperation today. Secondly, unfortunately we have to apologize for wasting your Saturday morning. It appears that we were not quite ready for a rehearsal and will instead reschedule for next Saturday."

The hall erupts into a mass of groans and complaining as the, very tired, graduating class receives this news. However, as the students begin to stand up to leave, Professor Flitwick demands our attention once again.

"While we may have taken up your morning, we are going to make it up to you all with a free afternoon in Hogsmeade today!"

In a matter of seconds, those few words turn the complaints into cheers. People who were already leaving, move even faster to clear the hall and head out to the village. Soon, the only people left are my friends and Professor Flitwick.

"Alright, so what are we gonna do? Are we all gonna stick together or are we gonna split up?" Asks Blaise as we all move closer together.

"Well I know Harry is actually in the area because he's on vacation at the moment," pipes up Ginny. "I can owl him to meet us in the Hog's Head and we could all hang out for the afternoon."

"Yeah that would be nice, it's been a while since we've all chilled together," adds Pansy.

"It's settled then, meet by the front of the building to grab the carriages in 15 minutes?" confirms Hermione.

We all nod and head off to get ready, leaving poor Professor Flitwick to deal with the mess of chairs and set the hall up for dinner.

* * *

"Wow Hermione, it looks like you're publishing your first academic paper sooner than you thought you would!" Says Harry with a big grin, his glass of butter beer sloshing as he gestures.

"Yes, well Draco is helping quite a bit, and we won't know for sure if it'll be published until Tuesday, the 17th." Replies Hermione with a slight blush.

"You're selling yourself short, I just helped you with the supporting research, you have a real mastery of the spell. Besides, you were the one who took on that trip and made it possible for us to finish it." I say.

"Oh so now you're okay with it. Back then you were complaining every second of it!"

"Wait what trip?" Asks Ron, and everyone else echoes his expression of confusion.

"Did we not tell you guys about it?" Hermione asks.

"I guess we were too caught up with the essay to tell them." I reply.

"Well go on, tell us what happened!" Exclaims Ginny.

"It wasn't that big, we ended up finding a portrait on the first floor that teleported us to a different world for a day where we were almost drowned in a mysterious lake and we had to gut a fish for the for the first time in our lives, but the whole thing was only equal to a few hours here." I tell them.

Blaise nods to prompt me to continue. "It was really something else though, a little scary at times, and a little concerning when we couldn't find our wands, but it was a good, strange experience."

"I'm sure it was a magical experience." Luna says absentmindedly. If only she knew how accurate her statement was, well actually she probably does know.

"It was, the nature around us, I mean, it was so much more vibrant and energized than here."

"Would you all like another round of butterbeer? On the house!" Cuts in Aberforth, interrupting our conversation with a grin. He nears our table to clear the many empty glasses sitting in the middle. He rushes off with them and comes back with them all refilled and with a basket of pumpkin pasties too.

"Thank you Aberforth, you really didn't have too." Says Harry, slightly embarrassed.

"Oh I know, but I'm still very grateful for what you all did last year so I thought I'd give you all a little treat. Maria, our cook made a special batch just for you guys." He replied with the Dumblerdore family's world famous twinkle of the eye.

We all thank him as he walks away again.

"So what's going on with you guys? What jobs are you all looking into?" Asks Harry.

"Oh! I've got this, I've got this, it's pretty much the only thing I can actually remember." Replies Neville, standing up suddenly and splashing a few of the fuller butterbeers. "Let's see, Ginny is planning to join the Harpies since tryouts are in month, Ron is planning to join George in the Weasley's Wizard Wheezes business, Luna applying to apprentice under Newt Scammander for Magizoology, Pansy is going to school for interior decorating, Blaise is going to school for business, Draco is applying to school for potioneering and business but is undecided, Hermione is joining the Ministry for Curse Breaking and hoping to get tapped to be an Unspeakable, and I'm going to be studying Herbology privately for about two years and apprenticing under Professor Sprout before becoming the new Herbology professor. Did I get everything right?"

"Wow, Neville, how'd you remember all of that so easily?" Asks Ginny, wide-eyed.

"Well, I've never really had a proper group of friends until a few years ago with you guys so I make sure I know what's happening to all my friends, especially when it comes to how everything will change in the future. I want to make sure I can still get in contact with you guys once we've graduated.

"Aw Neville, that's so sweet, but we'll definitely try to all meet up once we've graduated." Says Hermione while wiping the butterbeer that he spilt.

"Definitely mate, we just became friends so I don't think we'll be letting each other go for a while." Adds Ron.

"Thanks guys," Neville says with a faint blush, "that really means a lot to me."

Harry picks up his glass and raises it. "To friends!"

As we toast, Maria comes out with yet another batch of goodies for us, including treacle tarts and bread and butter pudding. Harry immediately reaches for a serving of the tart and before we know it, everyone's had a bite.

Even as it gets later and the bar turns on it's lamps to combat the growing darkness, we continue chatting amongst each other and enjoying each other's company. Our laughter appears to annoy some of the other patrons in the Hog's Head but that's alright to us. Sometimes a little laughter is both fun and necessary, especially for a group like us.

Around 9 o'clock Hermione taps her glass to get everyone's attention. "Guys we do still have exams to study for tomorrow so I think we should start heading back to the castle. And, Harry needs to go spend some time relaxing on his own too!" A few groans from Ginny and Ron make me smile.

"Come on you lot, we should be heading back now, it's late."

"Not that late Hermione, and since when did you become our mother?" Points out Harry with a wink.

"Since I met all of you, thank you very much. Now start moving!" She moves all of the dishes together as everyone collects their stuff. As we move to leave, Aberforth waves at us and we wave back to him.

Harry walks a little closer and calls out across the bar. "Thank you Aberforth, for everything!" He merely twinkles his eye in response.

Once we all get out we say our goodbyes and head up. Just before Harry leaves for his place I catch him near an alley, I had been meaning to tell him something today but it completely slipped my mind.

"Harry, I don't think McGonagall has officially extended her invitation yet, but she wanted me to let you know that you're invited to attend the graduation in a few weeks. It's all still a bit of a mess at the moment, but since you know practically everyone there, she'd love to have you."

Harry looks a little surprised but he smiles warmly, "Thanks Draco, tell her I'll definitely be there. No way I'm missing my friends graduate." We continue walking down the lane as everyone begins leaving in carriages.

"Excellent, I'll pass the message." I reply.

"Oh Draco, one more thing, what do you think you'll be doing next year?" His question surprises me. I'm still not entirely sure at this point. "Well I really want to research potions, but I would like to take McGonagall up on her professorship offer here at some point. My only concern is that I won't be able to see you guys as much because potioneering is a worldwide study and will require a lot of travel."

"Makes sense, but the real question is are you worried about not seeing us, or not seeing Hermione? Because that makes a big difference."

And just like always, Scar-Head has the nail right on the head. "Well it's not justified since we aren't even dating anymore, we're on a sort of break for now, but I don't want to leave her behind either."

"Listen to your gut. Go where it feels right to go. You'll know. If you do ever need a job though, we'd love to have you on our consultancy team like your father. The departement thinks you'd fit in really well and you've got lots of good skills. So if you're ever interested, just send me an owl."

"Thanks, I'll let you know if that ever happens but I don't think so. Now get back safely, Hermione will kill me if one of her best friends dies on my watch."

"Draco that goes for you too, she also wants you back in one piece." He says while turning to leave. "Night!"

And he disapparates away.

I walk back to the village and see Hermione waiting for me in a carriage, the door open slightly.

"There you are! I was beginning to think you were never coming back." She says disapprovingly. I climb up into the carriage to join her.

"Well I'm here now, so it's fine."

"Sure." She replies as she closes the door behind me.

We ride back in silence but when I turn back to discuss today I see she's already asleep, leaning against the window.

"Perhaps I'll just ask her tomorrow." I whisper with a smile.

* * *

Author's Note: Thank you, all of you who have read this far. It's quite a feat considering how irregularly I post nowadays! I really appreciate you guys taking time for this. Please review, a little piece of feedback. Let me know what your favourite chapter of this has been so far, especially if you've just read all of this in one go recently! Have a great week guys, till next time!


	61. Speeches, Dancing, & Platforms

Disclaimer: I do not own the Harry Potter franchise, nor anything affiliated with it.

* * *

Hermione's POV

The deep burgundy of my graduation cap makes the golden tassel much easier to spot. Each student received one in their house colours, as well as a little brooch with the school crest, visible on all of our robes. Though heavy, the dark robes are quite breathable and ensure that we won't be too hot in the Great Hall later.

I fiddle with the cap as I hold it in my lap. It's almost time for the ceremony to start and my nerves are starting to reach me. Earlier this morning I was still alright; adrenaline kept me moving. Now however, I have nothing left to do but wait and I don't like it one bit. As I reach up to adjust my hair and put my cap on, Draco reaches over to tuck a strand behind my ear.

His gentle touch jolts me back to reality but also calms me down ever so slightly.

"Hermione, you're going to be alright, you have one speech to make and you're much better at it than you think you are. The whole school adores you and I have no doubt that you'll give them a speech worth remembering. You have this." His grey eyes convey a sense of warmth in me unlike anything I've ever felt before. Before I register what I'm doing I pull him into a tight hug.

"Thank you Draco, thank you so much for being such an amazing friend and for helping me so much this year. I don't know what I would have done without you." He tenses a little when I first grab him, but slowly he relaxes and returns it.

"Which is funny, since at the beginning of the year I'm sure you would have still hexed me within an inch of my life if I gave you enough reason to do so."

I laugh and pull away, setting my cap on my head. "That is probably true." I admit.

McGonall's voice rings out across the hall, audible even from where we're standing, just outside the doors to the hall. The same doors that we had once walked in when we were just first years waiting to be sorted into our houses.

"Parents, relatives, friends, and teachers, thank you all for joining us today as we celebrate the first graduation at Hogwarts in a world free from Voldemort." A few gasps from the audience as she uses his real name bring a bitter smile to my lips. I turn back to Draco as he dons his green cap with a silver tassel.

"It is my pleasure to invite the graduating class to take a seat on the stage." We both walk forward together and push the large wooden doors open and lead our classmates through the aisle to where McGonagall stands behind her podium. The eyes of those in attendance are immediately drawn to us but we keep our head held high.

When we reach the stage, McGonagall nods to each of us in turn and we take a seat behind her with Prefects and Head students in the front and everyone else seated alphabetically.

Once everyone is seated, she continues, "Today we are here to celebrate the academic achievements of a particularly strong group of students. These students here have witnessed atrocities that most adults could only imagine, they have lost friends and family, they have had their childhood ruined on account of a tyrant and dictator, but they have also pulled themselves together and have continued to pursue their future with tireless drive. These students have so much to be proud of and have so many people who are proud of them."

She pauses then as the audience erupts in thunderous applause. I can see many of the parents lifting handkerchiefs to their face, drying tears and blowing noses.

"We will begin the ceremony first with some speeches prepared by this year's Head Students and co-valedictorians, Hermione Granger and Draco Malfoy. After, we shall present the diplomas to each student, and finally we shall present the special awards. Without further ado, Ms. Granger will now come up for her speech."

I stand up carefully, glancing back once to Draco, the silver spark in his eyes propelling me to keep moving. My notecards are in my hand and I place them on the oak podium. I cast a quick sonorous before I begin.

"Good afternoon parents, friends, family, and teachers. As the Head Girl this year, it was my duty to watch over the students here at Hogwarts in lieu of the teachers, to organise events, to monitor everyone and keep them safe. In addition to that, I assisted with the teaching of our Muggle Studies class in the absence of a fully qualified teacher after an amazing woman, Professor Carrington was killed."

I take a breath. It's been almost a year now since she was killed at the airport, and though I don't normally think about her, saying it out loud again makes my heart clench painfully. I try to steady myself against the podium and keep up a mask so no one can see me hurting. Behind me, I can hear a few sniffles and sobs and I feel comforted knowing that I'm not the only upset about it still. Forcing myself to take another slow breath I continue.

"Through both of those positions, I have seen the students here grow out of the shells; coming into this school with a will to learn, and turning into courageous, responsible, and honourable men and women. As the seniors, they put their pasts behind them and grew in unity, past prejudices of houses no longer mattering as people began to help each other the war.

"This may not be the last class of students who experienced the fight with Voldemort, but as the first in this generation, they have illuminated the path for everyone to follow, overcoming obstacles that seemed insurmountable. They have discovered what friendship truly is and that the only way to move on from the dark times is to make your own light.

"As we move on to the working world, we have already built relationships and skills that will help us navigate it and get through our future struggles. The students gathered today have a drive that will take the wizarding world and grow it to a civilization unlike any other."

I turn away from the audience and instead face the students. I turn towards my friends, my classmates, my peers. "So with these parting words, I congratulate you, seventh and eighth year students, and I challenge you to keep doing your best as you continue to grow."

I clap for them and everyone soon joins in. McGonagall comes back up and invites me to take a seat.

"Thank you Hermione for a wonderful speech. Now please join me as we invite our next speaker up, Draco Malfoy!"

As I walk past Draco on his way I give him a small thumbs up and reassuring smile, he looks a little startled but covers it up very quickly with a smile. "You were great! The perfect speech."

"Thank you," I whisper hurriedly as he takes the stand.

"Good afternoon everyone. For my speech I will be taking a somewhat unorthodox approach. With permission from our illustrious Headmistress," he winks at her and she gives him an exasperated smile in reply, "I will be showing you all a memory of mine. The spell I will use will provide you all with an immersive experience, similar to that of a Pensieve but available to everyone here all at once. I will cast it in three seconds. One. Two. Three."

 _"Omnibus revelare."_

My senses fade and are replaced instead with a fresh outdoor scent and the melodic hum of the lake.

* * *

Draco's POV

I'm sitting on the edge of a rock by the lake. The surface of the water has a crystalline look to it, and there are birds chirping all around me. I'm dangling my legs over the edge with relative ease. My legs feel so strong and pain-free. I reach down to touch the water and feel the cool edge to it but when I do, I see the reflection of the sky turn to gray as clouds start form. They are dense and cast gloomy feel over everything. I get up to leave before it rains, but suddenly the rock starts to shake as cracks form on the surface. They are deep and black, and the gapping lines start to move towards where I stand. I back up to the edge of the rock but slip and fall down into the water. It's bitterly cold and I can't tell which way is up or down. Rocks start to fall into the water and pin me down to the bottom of the lake. I start to drown and water starts to fill my lungs when I wake up.

The memory fades away and one by one my classmates and their parents come back to themselves. I'll have to remember to thank Hermione later for teaching me the spell, linking everyone's minds together to view that memory made this a lot easier.

"So that was a dream that I had this year. It was quite unsettling overall, but what really got me about the dream was how it felt to not have to deal with my problems.

"As some of you may know, during the year I was attacked and the joints in my lower half were almost completely destroyed. In this dream however, I didn't have to face the ever constant pain of my waking hours until the very end. Almost like when I chose to ignore all my pain and problems when I was younger. When I grew up however, they hit me in the face and smashed me to the ground. They overwhelmed me and I was drowning. Someone saved me from the fate of actually drowning, but it took some time and it wasn't just one person.

"I think about how Myrtle and Luna used to talk to me and let me discuss my problems, how Hermione finally taught me how to step out and leave it behind, and how our Headmistress McGonagall and Harry Potter all took a chance on me and have helped turn me into the person I am now.

"So based on this, there are two points that I would like everyone to take away from this. No matter how much you're struggling in your position, don't ignore your problems and your pain. Face it, because it will just keep building up and getting stronger. I also want to remind all of you that no matter what you go through in life, always depend on your friends. My friends have brought me lots of happiness and I hope that I bring them just as much. As we all go forward into the adult world, remember to find the happiness that only your closest friends can give you. Don't forget to have fun even as a working adult or in your post-secondary education programs. You've all survived a war, most of you after being on the front lines, now go and take over the wizarding world."

The applause seems deafening to me and I take a few steadying breaths to calm myself down a little before taking a bow and walking briskly back to my seat. I almost collapse into my chair as Hermione grabs my arm and congratulates me on an, "amazing, well thought out, and extremely creative speech". I smile briefly at her before turning back to Headmistress McGonagall who has now retaken her spot at the podium.

The rest of the ceremony passes in a blur. We each receive our diplomas but I don't even remember mine. The awards were presented with many surprises. Neville won the Herbology award, Ginny won the Quidditch award, Hermione won the Academic achievement award, and Luna won the character award, but then Blaise won the Runes award, Ron won the History of Magic award, and Pansy won the Alchemy award. I myself won the Defense Against the Dark Arts award, much to my confusion and the amusement of everyone else.

Once everything is over, we're all released to enjoy the dinner provided and mingle with our friends.

"Hey guys," says Harry after he finds all of us, "Congratulations all of you on your awards! Wow, some of that was really unexpected right?"

"It really was!" Agrees Ginny. "I can't believe we all got one too!"

McGonagall, who is mingling with some nearby parents, steps towards us.

"Well you're all exceptional students." We all blush in response and thank her. "No, the pleasure was all mine, it was a delight teaching all of you and I know the halls here at Hogwarts will miss you. You're all quite welcome to visit whenever you would like to, and for those who I talked to, if you ever want to take me up on the offer, I'd be happy to accept you for the positions. I must get back to the rest of the parents, but go enjoy yourselves!"

"Wow, this is really it, huh?" Says Ron and we all nod in agreement. "This sure has been one crazy ride."

"Well we still have the rest of evening though, to enjoy our last night here. Besides, McGonagall did say that we can drop by anytime." Adds Hermione.

"Yeah, come on guys, let's go have a good time! The dance is starting soon so let's go grab some food and have some fun." Says Ginny.

We head over to grab a bite but to my surprise there's a group of house elves getting ready to serve the food.

"Harry Potter!" Squeals one of them and Harry, who was standing near the front of the group, is suddenly knocked down by a rather blurry shape. "Winky is so very happy to see you sir!"

"Winky!" He exclaims, "Merlin's beard it's been a while, how are you?"

"Oh Winky is sorry for knocking master over, but Winky is very excited to see him. Winky is doing very well, she is.

The house elves behind the tables begin murmuring to each other, asking if it really is Harry. One by one they slowly leave the tables and crowd around Harry. By the time all of them have come over, they're all asking him questions and thanking him for killing the Dark Lord. I can't help but laugh at the discovery of his latest fans.

Across the hall, McGonagall gives them a stern look and they reluctantly return to setting up for dinner. However when they realize that we had come over for food, they rapidly finish setting up and begin to serve us, excited to be of service to "Harry Potter and his friends".

They uncover giant dishes of steaming brisket, potatoes, Yorkshire pudding, roasted vegetables, and mini treacle tarts. The drink selection includes the usual pumpkin juice, but also fresh cider and butterbeer; special supply from the Hog's Head.

While we had gotten our food it appears that a line has gathered and the relatively clear seating from earlier has been turned into white tables with floral centerpieces in the middle. After Winky finishes serving Ginny, we grab a seat at a table near the back of the hall.

Somehow we manage to fit all nine of us around the rather small table. Across the hall I see the Weasley's and Neville's gran sitting with my father. As I watch him sitting and casually chatting with them, I feel a bittersweet pang in my chest for my mother.

I forgot that since she's gone, she'll never see me graduate and she'll never know the person that I've become. She won't know how much I've changed to become the man I am today. She'd have hated to see her little boy all grown up, but I know she really wished to be at my graduation, it was something we had discussed a few times when the Voldemort was in power and it looked like graduations would become Death Eater initiation ceremonies instead.

Forcing the lump in my throat down, and willing myself to focus on anything but that, I try to return to the conversation in front of me. Unfortunately I was now hopelessly lost.

"Yes but if you were to somehow cross breed basilisks with phoenixes, wouldn't the healing properties of phoenix tears contradict the basilisk venom and vice versa? Or would the half breed just have both agents and then be able to use them whenever they felt like it?" Argues Ginny, trying to speak across the table to Pansy, but the centrepiece was a little tall.

Since I obviously was not going to figure out what they were talking about any time soon, I decided to make myself useful instead and shrink the centrepieces to better allow for conversation.

Since I obviously was not going to figure out what they were talking about any time soon, I decided to make myself useful instead and shrink the centrepieces around the hall to better allow for conversation. No one seems to notice but no one was supposed to anyway.

"Hello everyone!" Calls out McGonagall. "Almost everyone seems to be finished with their food, so we're going to clear the tables and plates away so that we can start the final dance of the year. If you would like to continue eating, leave your cutlery on your plate and grab a seat at a table along the wall, your plate will appear in front of you when you do."

The clatter of cutlery echoes through the hall before the plates suddenly disappear, presumably the handiwork of the house elves.

Most of us stand up in preparation of the tables being removed, and gather near the middle. I notice a few men walking up on the stage, wearing torn black robes. At first I'm confused but then I recognize them with their iconic fashion and instrument choices. The Weird Sisters are a strange sight now since two of them were killed during the war after refusing to serve Voldemort's regime, but it looks like they're slowly recovering from their devastating loss.

"All right Hogwarts, are you guys ready for a great night?" Asks the lead singer, Myron, after amplifying his voice.

"Woohoo!" The cheers from the crowd aren't as loud as you'd have expected at something like this but I don't think anyone really cares.

"We have a great night planned for you guys! A perfect mix of our own songs and some muggle songs for diversity, let's hear it for the muggle borns in here!" He yells. The whole hall screams bringing a smile to my face. Perhaps we did better than we thought with the students. "And of course we'll have some nice older wizarding hits for the parents and staff." He adds with a wink at McGonagall who just smiles exasperatedly. "Let's get this celebration underway then!"

The band starts with a solid beat and then slowly adds a guitar riff and chords. The song starts playing and people start heading out to the floor to start dancing. Most of our friends have headed and now it's just Hermione and I.

"Hey I just wanted to say, you had a beautiful metaphor and story for your speech earlier. It was amazing, the way you added that imagery to get everyone's attention, ingenious." Says Hermione after a little bit of awkward standing around.

"Thanks, I didn't want anyone to know about it beforehand, so I just wrote a burner speech for the rehearsals. Yours was really great too though, I was surprised that you mentioned Professor Carrington though."

"Well I didn't intend to, it kind of just slipped out of my mouth without me thinking about it."

We fall back into silence and watch as our classmates dance to the music. Most of them are just shuffling around, hopping up and down, or swaying, but a few of them are dancing with partners and getting more creative with it. I see a couple doing a lift near the back and smile, they looked very happy.

"My parents would have loved to see this." Whispers Hermione after a while, pausing again. "To see me graduate, as valedictorian, just to see the school for themselves. My mother always loved the idea of castles and I know she would have loved the architecture here." She seems to deflate a little and I reach over to hold her hand.

"My mother would have loved to be here too. She used to tell me about how she couldn't wait for me to graduate and become who I was truly meant to be. She'd spend hours imagining what we would do at the graduation, telling me what awards I would get. But she also told me that more important than anything was being happy. Even when things aren't going your way, even when sadness threatens to overwhelm you, even when it seems like living is not worth it anymore, try to find happiness, and I know she wouldn't want me to be upset now, neither of us should be."

"I know, just sometimes it becomes a little much. I wish I could just talk to them one more time."

"As much as we all wish that…" I don't finish my sentence, because we both know how it ends. It doesn't need to be said out loud because we know we'll never stop wishing that.

A new song begins playing and Hermione suddenly looks up.

"Woah, I assume you know the song?" I ask, a faint smile forming on my face.

"Yeah, it was ages ago. I think I was 3 or 4. My mom and I used to listen to music in the kitchen while she cooked and this was one of her favourites for a few days before she found more songs to listen to. But I loved it."

"In that case, may I have this dance?" I stand up and hold out a hand for her to take. She smiles and grabs my hand, dragging me into the mass of students who can't dance.

 _I have_  
 _I have you breathing down my neck_  
 _Breathing down my neck_  
 _I don't, don't know_  
 _What you could possibly expect_  
 _Under this condition-so_  
 _I'll wait, I'll wait_  
 _For the ambulance to come_  
 _Ambulance to come_  
 _Pick us up off the floor_  
 _What did you possibly expect_  
 _Under this condition, so_  
 _Slow down_  
 _This night's a perfect shade of_

Hermione leads us a very upbeat dance as we spin and sway together, swinging around each other, and weaving around everyone else.

 _Dark blue, dark blue_  
 _Have you ever been alone in a crowded room?_  
 _When I'm here with you_  
 _I said the world could be burning, burning down_  
 _Dark blue, dark blue_  
 _Have you ever been alone in a crowded room?_  
 _Well I'm here with you_  
 _I said the world could be burning_  
 _'Til there's nothing but_  
 _Dark blue, dark blue_

 _This flood_  
 _This flood is slowly rising up_  
 _Swallowing the ground_  
 _Beneath my feet_  
 _Tell me how anybody thinks_  
 _Under this condition_  
 _So I'll swim I'll swim_  
 _As the water rises up_  
 _Sun is sinking down_  
 _And now all I can see_  
 _Are the planets in a row_  
 _Suggesting it's best that I_  
 _Slow down_  
 _This night's a perfect shade of_

Placing my hands on her hips, she arranges me then puts her own on my shoulders.

"Now, when they hit the chorus here, you're going to bend a little and then push me up straight up so I'm balancing, briefly, on your hands." I stare at her incredulously. "It'll be fun, trust me. I'll have my hands on you for support and I'm going to jump to help you. It's not very long. Okay, one, two, three!" I stop thinking and move on instinct instead.

 _Dark blue, dark blue_  
 _Have you ever been alone in a crowded room?_  
 _When I'm here with you_  
 _I said the world could be burning, burning down_  
 _Dark blue, dark blue_  
 _Have you ever been alone in a crowded room?_  
 _Well I'm here with you_  
 _I said the world could be burning_  
 _Dark blue_

 _We were boxing_  
 _We were boxing the stars_  
 _We were boxing_  
 _You were swinging for mars_  
 _And then the water reached the west coast_  
 _And took the power lines, the power lines_  
 _And it was me and you_  
 _And the whole town underwater_  
 _There was nothing we could do_

 _It was dark blue_

I suddenly scoop Herminoe up bridal style and spin her around. By this point we're one of the few people still dancing since everyone got tired, but we're still going strong. She laughs and screams a little, worried that I'll drop her.

"Don't worry," I say, "trust me." She punches me lightly in the shoulder for that.

 _Dark blue, dark blue_  
 _Have you ever been alone in a crowded room?_  
 _When I'm here with you_  
 _I said the world could be burning, burning down_  
 _Dark blue_  
 _Have you ever been alone in a crowded room?_  
 _Well I'm here with you_  
 _I said the world could be burning_  
 _Now there's nothing but_  
 _Dark blue_

 _If you've ever been alone_  
 _You'll know_  
 _Dark Blue_

 _If you've ever been alone_  
 _You'll know_  
 _You'll know_

As the song ends, the first thing I realize is how closer we're standing, pressed against each other.

I stand back quickly, pushing myself away and creating a gap between us. "I'm sorry, I forgot-"

"No, no, no, no… that's okay I wasn't paying attention either." Hermione replies, out of breath, her cheeks rosy. I can't tell if it's from embarrassment or exertion.

We stand there awkwardly, both of us too nervous to do anything. Our silence is interrupted when the lead singer gets our attention again. "Alright Hogwarts! It was a delight to play for all of you today, but we have go home now and so do you. Your headmistress will be coming up now to give you all instructions but have a great day and get home safely!" The band then bows and clears the stage for McGonagall.

"Thank you everyone for coming to today's graduation ceremony. I think it is safe to say that it was a great success and everyone had a good time. We will bid you all farewell today, but don't forget to collect your diploma by the door on your way out. You may collect your last few items from your rooms but your main luggage should already be down at Hogsmeade now. The Hogwarts Express will be leaving in 2 hours so please make sure you make it on time. It was a pleasure to teach you all and I hope that the future is kind to you. Thank you."

Everyone applauds her and we slowly start making our way out. Many of the students stay behind to say goodbye to their friends but Draco and I head straight up to our dorm.

* * *

Hermione's POV

Draco and I have headed up to our dorm, walking slower than usual, and I can't stop thinking about our dance. Something about it felt weird, but it was also magical. I don't know if Draco felt the same way but I know that was special. Unfortunately it also feels like something's changed between us. We're walking together but we seem to ve ever so slightly further from each other than normal. There's something in the air between us, unspoken.

When we reach the portrait, the little boy and girl pull their kite down, seemingly walking closer to us.

"Are you guys leaving?" They ask sadly.

"Oh! Um, yes we are." I say cautiously. In the entire time we've had this dorm, they haven't stopped to talk to us. I assumed that they didn't interact with people as much as the other portraits.

"So soon? But you just got here!" The boy whines.

I feel a little confused; it's been a year since we first got here. "Unfortunately, we do have to go. We just graduated, but you'll have another set of kids to watch over next year."

The girl sniffs a little, wiping her yes. "But we'll miss you!" I can see Draco out of the corner of my eye, getting more and more weirded out with every passing second.

"Hey, shh." I say, walking closer and pressing a finger to the portrait, as if trying to stroke her hair. "It'll be okay, we'll miss you guys too." And it's true. While we barely spent any time chatting to them, I'll miss seeing the two kids playing in the field. They were always so happy and carefree.

When you're graduating, or just leaving something behind, it's the little things that get you. When I first left my family home in our seventh year, it didn't really set in that I was leaving my entire life until I tripped on a funny looking log I used to play with as a young girl. I used to use it like a wand. Now as we're leaving Hogwarts, the thought of leaving this portrait, something I took for granted, seems like it might be too much.

"Hermione, it's okay." Reassures Draco, who rests his hand on mine, pulling it away from the painting. "And you two will be okay. Keep flying that kite way up high." He adds. The girl wipes her face one more time and nods, handing the kite to her friend and starting to run with it.

I take a breath to clear my throat and whisper our password. "Everything has changed." Nothing could be truer than that. When we chose that as our password the first time, it had been shortly after the Halloween Ball when things slowed down just a little bit. As we've gone through this year, it's taken on many different meanings, but we've never changed it. Now as we're leaving something feels different about it, but I don't know what that is.

We walk in silently and slowly walk up to collect our last few items. I brush the elegant vines twisting around the handle to my room before twisting it to go inside for what will probably be the last time. The desk is now clear, the bed has been made, and the only thing left is a small bag with all of my school work in it. I pick it up and shrink it before slipping it into my purse.

I survey my room one last time, pushing the memories down inside my mind. I don't want to remember what I'm leaving behind, it'll make it that much harder to say goodbye. Draco steps out of his room just as I step out of mine. He's slung his bag over his shoulder, his hair pushed to one side. We close our doors and then walk down so we can make it to the train station on time.

As we pass the living room, I feel Draco's head on my shoulder, leaning into me as we played board games by the fireplace. His hair was so soft between my fingertips. The kitchen reminds me of our fights, when I dropped my mug in the sink that one day and it was just too much for both of us. I remember him drying my tears when I was marking the exams at the island counter. So many memories were made here in this dorm. I don't want to leave, but I know I have to.

Slowly, Draco and I make our way to the front of the castle to board a carriage and head down to the Hogwarts Express. Pansy and Ron appear the only ones left waiting so we group together and snag one for all four of us.

Once we've sat down, I slowly begin to fall asleep as the rocking of the carriage becomes more steady. My eyes grow heavier and my head droops a little. One of the wheels runs over a rock and it jolts us all awake; turns out I wasn't the only one falling asleep.

"You guys ready to head back?" Asks Ron once we realize how close we are to the station.

"Not at all." Replies Draco. "I'm going to miss the chaos of Hogwarts. The manor is a little too quiet for my liking at the moment."

"If you want chaos, I'm sure mum would love to have you over at some point." Offers Ron.

"Perhaps, I might take you up on that offer later."

"No worries, just send an owl. What about you Hermione?" I was kind of hoping they'd stay focused on each other and ask me.

Truth be told I don't want to go back either. I haven't really thought about what I'm doing. I know that I'm going to start working with the ministry soon, but until then, I'll have the house all to myself. Last year I just hid in my room all day. I'll have to figure out what to do this time.

"I don't know, I think I might try fixing up my house over the summer. I'm still a little too sentimental about it, but I might sell it one of these days and get an apartment instead, something closer to wizarding London."

"If you're interested in a flatmate, I'm getting a place closeby as well so that I can cover a larger area with my designing business." Says Pansy. "I sold my family's house and got a nice three bedroom flat about ten minutes from the Leaky."

"That's great. I'll see how it goes and owl you if anything changes." I reply.

I'm about to ask Ron what his thoughts are when the carriage stops. It appears we've arrived at the station.

We file out and join the other students gathered near the platform. The luggage is just being loaded now and we should be boarding in a few minutes.

I spot the others gathered near the end of the platform and we regroup there.

The train whistles suddenly and fills the platform with steam.

"We'd better board quickly, so we can grab a compartment for all of us together." I say, rushing everyone on.

We just manage to steal the last car as everyone rushes on. It's a tight fit but all nine of us manage to fit in. We spend the ride chatting, planning a meet up in late July that none of us may actually be able to attend, and playing an intense game of Exploding Snap. A few of the cards ended up in the hallway, much to the annoyance of the trolley witch. We did not get them back.

In the end, it's probably almost 11pm when we get to King's Cross station. We disembark from the car and gather on the platform to say our last goodbyes. We take turns hugging each other, which probably takes about five minutes and then one by one we start to depart.

Soon, it's just Draco, Ron, Harry, Ginny, and myself. The other three were planning to stay at the burrow and were just waiting for everyone else to leave, but Draco and I were each going to our own places.

"Alright you too, we're going to head now. You guys okay to get back yourselves?" Asks Harry. We both nod and we say goodbye again, so now it's just Draco and me. Like always it seems.

"So I guess this is goodbye then?" I ask softly. The platform is mostly clear now, just a few stragglers. I look up at him and he looks a little sad, staring off to one side.

"Yeah, I guess it might be." He replies. We look each other in the eye, both of us looking for something in the other's expression, trying desperately to read the unspoken words between us.

I have to tear my eyes away now. Walk away, I tell myself. Just keep walking and don't look back.

"Hermione," he calls out and I stop in my tracks, "before you leave, I just want to say, I'll always be here for you. No matter what you need, I'll be here." So much is said with those few words and I feel tears threatening to spill over.

"I know Draco." I whisper, still facing away. My face warps a little as I bite back my sobs. I drop my trunk on the ground and run back to him, wrapping my arms around him, and burying my face in his shoulder. We embrace right there on the platform, oblivious to the world around us. When I eventually step back and pull away, I can see his eyes are red and puffy too.

"I… I have to go, I'm sorry." I say, my voice now hoarse. He nods and follows me to my bag. We walk silently to the apparition point and when we reach it I speak up again. "I guess I'll see you around then."

"Yeah, see you around." He places his own trunk down and waves. I step onto the platform and twist around, leaving my life and love behind.

I don't see Draco crumple in on himself after I'm gone. I don't see him collapse on the ground, his heart shattered once again. Just like he doesn't see me stumble into my house and collapse onto the couch sobbing, wondering if I was right about us not being right for each other. Neither of us see the other half of the picture, but we both learn to move on, even if it takes us all summer to crawl back out of our shells again.

* * *

Author's Note: Bit of a weird ending, but this wouldn't be fanfiction without some tears. So there's the last official chapter, but the epilogue should be up soon! I've had it mostly finished for a while but I had to get myself through these last two chapters. Thank you guys for sticking by and those of you who just joined us for this crazy, weird, journey. I hope you guys enjoy the wrap up and that you guys have a great week in the meantime. Please leave a review, just a final word of feedback would be great. Till next time! ;)


	62. First Day, Open Curtains, & Fresh Starts

Disclaimer: I do not own the Harry Potter franchise, nor anything affiliated with it.

* * *

 **17 years later**

Draco's POV

I check my watch for the time and see that it is about 9:30. Plenty of time for Scorpius to get ready and pack his last minute items for Hogwarts. My scrambled eggs are a little saltier than usual but it's fine when you put it on toast.

While scanning the Daily Prophet for today's headline I see that Potter's made the front page once again for donating 1 million Galleons of his fortune to Hogwarts for replacement of old Quidditch equipment, potions ingredients, and the addition of more tech to enhance the Muggle Studies department. I'm sure that it'll be quite helpful since most of the school's equipment and resources weren't replaced or fixed after the war. He's also announced that he's starting a charity for less fortunate witches and wizards to help get school equipment and materials. I know some of the students, like the Weasley's, used to have lots of trouble shopping for the new school year and it meant that they couldn't get the best education.

I put down the Prophet and finish off my eggs, moving onto my fruits. The door creaks and I see Scorpius walk in. He's dressed in his more casual clothes, a plain grey polo shirt and black jeans, but he carries an air of confidence about him that makes him seem somewhat regal.

He's grown up quite well. Confidence and etiquette were never a problem, but he wasn't snooty or rude either; unlike me when I was his age. We also encourage him to play with kids his own age which also helps with his social skills. He and his friends love playing Quidditch in the backyard of the Manor; I've gotten much better at dealing with injuries on smaller children now.

Scorpius sits down across from me and gets a bowl of cereal and a glass of orange juice.

"So Scorp, any last minute nerves?" I ask. "Any words of wisdom that you want to hear from your dear father before you go off to Hogwarts?" Grinning at him as I say this, he laughs and smiles back.

"Dad, you aren't that old. You make it sound like you're as old as Grandpa Lucius! You're the same age as Harry Potter." He always has to compare me to Potter. It's funny, even now that we're 35 we still get compared and act like rivals. I can't even call him Harry, it doesn't feel right; everyone else I can call by their first name but he will always be Potter to me.

"I'm hurt! You don't think I look younger? All these charming looks?" Scorpius rolls his eyes at me as he continues spooning his cereal into his mouth.

"Still not as good looking as Mother." He comments with a completely straight face. He really knows how to hit where it hurts. "Did I wound your pride?" He asks sweetly. I just scowl at him. If he doesn't end up in Slytherin I'll have to personally talk to the Sorting Hat and demand what's wrong with it.

* * *

Hermione's POV

I roll over and hit my alarm clock, accidentally knocking it off of my side table. The smash of the glass face makes me bolt upright. Yanking the covers off of myself, I reach down to grab the clock and see that it's 9:30, plenty of time before I have to be up. I fix the clock and then place it back on the table, snuggling under the blankets again. Just as I close my eyes, I think about the time once more.

Wait. Oh no! It's 9:30! I'm late!

I shoot up out of bed and I finally register the light filtering in through the open, pale green curtains. Great. It's going to be Rose's first day of school and we're starting late. I already know she isn't up right now, she never gets up until you make her.

I hurriedly toss the light brown sheets onto the bed so they hanging off and then run out into the hallway. I then barge into Rose's room and flick the lights on.

"Rose! Wake up! It's time to get ready or you'll be late for the train!"

I fling her curtains open and when I've tied them back, I can see that she's stirring underneath her blankets.

"Rose you'd better be awake and getting changed by the time I come back here." I say sternly to the lump on the bed. I just get incoherent mumbling and groaning in response. There isn't enough time for me to bug her right now though.

I jog out of the room, stopping briefly to turn the lights back off since it's really sunny today, and then hurry back to my own room.

* * *

Draco's POV

Scorpius left to go pack some last minute items and play with his pet ferret after leaving his dirty dishes in the kitchen.

When George gave Hermione and I the Puff Pals back in our eighth year, he failed to mention that they don't age or die. At least I don't think that they do. My ferret is still alive and healthy, so I gave him to Scorpius when he was about 4 years old. He later named him Fefoy when he heard about a particular story from our fourth year while on a visit to the Weasel's house. I've never quite forgiven him for that one.

While Scorpius is allowed to bring Fefoy to Hogwarts under the new extended pets list, he doesn't think he'll get a lot of time to play him during school and he's worried that his dorm mates might not like Fefoy. I don't see why. I'm still a little bit sore about the name, but I do think that he's pretty cute. He was once mine after all.

The dishes are being very uncooperative today, a certain grease spot is refusing to rub off. I've been cleaning them the muggle way for the last fifteen years as I find that it helps me to concentrate a little better and relax more. I still have to get Scorpius to Kings Cross later and then catch the train for work. Speaking of which, I should probably pack for my bags once I'm done here.

I shake the water from the few last dishes and then roughly dry them with a hand towel. Once they're no longer soaking and they're back on their shelves, I head upstairs to the master bedroom.

The door opens with a light push and shuts behind me. My trunk is in the closet and I pull it out. It's the same one that I used in school and there are still a few miscellaneous objects in there; a quill nib, a half-full jar of red ink, three scraps of parchment, and a handful of owl treats. I reach in to gather them all and then I deposit them into the bin.

I open the oak closet and gather some shirts, slacks, jeans, robes, and dress robes into the trunk. I then add my work files and reference texts. They aren't exactly easy to carry on my person.

After completing a final packing check, I latch my trunk close and head downstairs again, leaving the door slightly ajar.

* * *

Hermione's POV

I quickly undress and hop into the shower, scrubbing extra hard and washing my hair ridiculously fast considering it's volume. I twist the tap hard to turn it off and then step out of the cubicle while reaching for my towel. Just as I grab it I slip and fall on my bottom. Rather hard. My towel is still grasped in my hand but it's also draped over me which is a good thing I guess.

I groan and carefully stand up while leaning on the counter. I then wrap my now-aching body in my towel and squeezing out my hair. My clothes are lying on the wicker chair in the bathroom, near the door; a simple red blouse, and cream three-quarter length dress pants.

I put them on quickly and turn off the bathroom light. There doesn't appear to be much room coming from Rose's room and I'm pretty sure that she's gone back to sleep.

When I get back to her room, I see that while she's now only half covered by her blankets, she's still very much asleep.

I give a heavy sigh and pull out my wand.

"Wingardium Leviosa." I carefully lift her out from her bed and over her carpet, till she's about a foot and a half from the ground. Then I cancel the spell.

The effect is instantaneous. She lands with a thud and bolts up right away.

"Ow! Mom! Why'd you drop me on the floor?! That hurt!" She grumbles. I smile at her in a sickly sweet way, and then toss her the clothes she picked out last night.

"You're late. If you don't hurry up, you're gonna miss the train."

"The train leaves at 11! I have plenty of time."

"No you don't. You still have to pack your last minute items, get dressed, go shower and brush your teeth, have breakfast, and then we have to get to the train station! It'll take about half an hour to get down to the station which leaves you with half an hour to do all that since it's now 10!"

"Ugh, fine." She rubs her eyes and starts changing into her clothes. I begin to help her pack her last minute items into her trunk, double checking all of her lists and adding a few items that I think she'll need.

"Are you done changing yet?" I ask her without turning around.

"Yesh iem." *spit* "Yes I am. I'm also done brushing my teeth."

"Good. Now hurry downstairs. I've left some breakfast out for you in the kitchen."

"Fine mom. Now stop packing my things, I know what I want and need. You don't need to do it for me."

"Sure honey. Now hurry up!." I almost yell at her. She jogs out of the room and I hear her thumping down the stairs. I don't know how she makes that much noise.

I shut the lid on her trunk and head back to my room to go pack my own.

* * *

Draco's POV

I help Scorpius with his trunk, carrying it onto a trolley. When I've balanced it, and the cage for Fefoy, I let him push it for a bit. After a bit more convincing, Scorpius finally decided to take him to Hogwarts. I'm very glad about that. Otherwise Bipsy would have had to take care of him.

I load my own trunk up onto a trolley and start to push it. We start towards the barrier and I can see Hermione helping Rose out of the corner of my eye. I stop for a moment and call Scorpius, asking him to wait a moment.

"Hermione!" I call out across the many other people milling about.

She looks up from Rose and smiles. "Yes dear?"

"You and Rose were making me worried!" I reply, closing the gap between us and giving her a peck on the cheek.

"Ew, Dad, if we came here just so you two could smooch could I have at least slept in a bit longer?" I turn to Rose and give her a bit of a pointed look.

"What have I said about using the tone with us young lady?"

"Sorry Daddy." She replies while blushing the colour of her name.

"Don't you mean professor?" I tease. She screws up her face in disgust.

"That's going to take some getting used to."

Hermione cuts in and begins to fix Rose's hair.. "I agree, though I must make sure to not accidentally call your father 'sir'."

"There's no need to call me 'sir' professor." I retort. She laughs at this and I hear someone call out across the platform.

"Malfoy, did you just say that?!" I can see Ron striding towards me, grinning wildly.

"Ron! Slow down, you could at least help with Sadie." Says Pansy as she follows close with their daughter who will be in the same year as Rose and Scorpius.

As soon as she spots them, Sadie runs over to Rose and Scorpius. The three of them begin to chat eagerly about finally going off to school. Pansy throws her hands up in the air and grumpily pushes the luggage cart over to us, mumbling something about it only being a few days till she can re design their house.

"Sadie, Scorp, Rose, how about we take our luggage onto the train and let you mother's talk for a bit." I suggest. Ron and I help the kids with their luggage and get onto the train. We set them up in their compartment and then train whistle blows, giving the last call.

"Goodbye Sadie, see you over the break!" Ron calls out, leaving the compartment to go find Pansy.

"Are all of you guys alright here?" I ask the three trouble makers seated in front of me once the train starts moving.

A chorus of 'yes's answer my question.

"Alright then, I'm going to go find your mother and help her with the Prefect and Head student orientations. Are you guys going to stay out of trouble?"

They all say yes but somehow I doubt they will. If they're anything like their parents, they'll be up against another group of kids in less than 10 minutes. Just enough time for me to find Hermione.

* * *

Hermione's POV

"So Hermione, how was Rose this morning?" Pansy asks me with a sly smile.

"She was a disaster like always. I'm just glad that Draco was able to take care of Scorpius. They had a sleepover and Scrop got homesick." I reply exasperatedly. "In the end Rose wanted to leave too, but it was so that she could see her grandma's house one last time before we sell it. But anyway, how's Sadie? Glad she won't be eating you guys out of house and home now?"

"Well, I'll still have to feed your voracious monster of a friend, but now I don't have to worry about cooking for two armies, just one. Not to mention I'll finally be able to redecorate the house with Sadie off at school and Ron at work most days. It's been 11 years of the same boring wallpaper and flooring so the house looks simply ancient!"

I laugh with complete ease, Pansy and I have gotten much closer now as adults and parents. We both helped each other with our pregnancies and we've bonded quite a bit. Sadie and Rose have been having lots of sleepovers and we both know what it's like to deal with each other's children. Pansy was so worried the first time. She floo called saying that Rose seemed to be in a coma and wouldn't wake up. I had to explain that Rose doesn't ever wake up early. I still don't know what she's going to do at Hogwarts. If she's late to any of my morning classes, she won't be receiving any sympathy.

"Well let me know if you want someone to help you pick a theme or colour scheme."

"Of course, did you think that you wouldn't be helping with that? Second opinions are crucial in the world of decorating and design."

"I wouldn't pass up that job even if I was behind on marking exams." I reply with a laugh.

"And we all know that Hermione Granger rarely puts off work." She says with a knowing smile. "I still can't believe that you and Draco actually taught Muggle Studies back in Eighth Year, shouldn't that have made you avoid teaching at all costs?"

"Well it was stressful but it was also very interesting and fun. It definitely changed my perspective to be a teacher as well as a student."

"I don't doubt it. Well I'm sure you'll be able to handle everything that gets thrown at you this year, if you could handle myself and the entire first semester population of Muggle Studies students, you can handle anything."

"You weren't an awful student Pansy, you just didn't apply yourself as well as you could have."

"I guess, I was still pretty mean to you guys."

"It's fine, we've talked about this, you're still definitely one of my best friends now so let's leave the past in the past."

Suddenly the train's whistle blows and I realize that they're calling the last few passengers on board now.

"Oh my, well it looks like I best be going Pansy, I'll see you around! You _are_ coming to visit on the upcoming Hogsmeade day right?"

"Of course darling, I wouldn't miss it for the world." She replies with her perfect Parkinson flair.

"Alright, goodbye! And do make sure you say goodbye to your daughter before she leaves on the train. Actually, you'd better make sure she gets on the train, we wouldn't want her to take after her father and pull a stunt like he did in our second year."

"Goodness you're right, bye!" She then runs off, presumably to find Sadie. She should be okay, Draco and Ron were with all three of the kids last I checked. Having said that, none of them can really be trusted.

We agreed that I'm to secure our compartment and talk with this year's Head Students and Prefects while he wrangles the kids and makes his way over.

I take my luggage off of the cart and board the train, walking over to the teachers compartment, something they added more recently since many professors at Hogwarts now have families and can't travel as easily.

When I reach the compartment I take a deep breath, this year is going to be a good year.

* * *

Author's Note: And that's a wrap! I'm sorry it took so long and I'm so thankful for all of you for sticking with me. I hope that you guys enjoyed this story and that you guys don't hate me for making it seem like Hermione and Draco were over. This may be the end of this, but if you guys could give me a few parting words of advice or feedback, that'd be great. I love hearing your thoughts and maybe some of what you say can be used to improve my future writing.

Speaking of future writing, we may have another story coming soon... Yay! It depends on how my first drafts with that come along since I don't want to end up with the situation where I was falling behind with writing; I want to have at least half of it written before I start publishing.

Once again, thank you guys so much! Have a great week!


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